DECATUR, Ga. (Gray News) - A school district in Georgia reported their meal balance has been paid off by a corporate foundation grant after it announced it would start giving cheese sandwiches to students who had lunch debt.
City Schools of Decatur released a statement on Jan. 25 announcing the $88,000 districtwide lunch debt had been eliminated and all past student balances had been forgiven.
In a press release from Arby’s, the fast food company said that through the Arby’s Foundation, it was able to donate over $200,000 to completely pay off not only $88,000 in lunch debt at City Schools of Decatur but also $73,272 to the Cobb County School District, $35,000 to the Henry County School District and $7,261 to the Fulton County School District.
“Childhood hunger is something that no one should ever have to face, and school lunch should be a time that kids look forward to without worrying if they’ll have a meal that day,” said Stuart Brown, Executive Director of Inspire Brands Foundation. “We’re honored to have partnered with so many local school districts to help those students enjoy lunchtime with their classmates, and ease the burden on parents.”
The Arby’s Foundation says it will donate $1 million in January to pay off the school lunch debt for more than 47,000 students at 762 schools across the county.
The City Schools of Decatur had previously announced a new policy, set to begin on Feb. 2, that would provide only a cheese sandwich and milk to students who had more than three charged meals.
While the school district did not mention the cheese sandwiches in its latest statement, it did say it has partnered with organizations “to provide additional assistance to individual families experiencing financial hardships.”
“As a public school district, we often have to make difficult decisions,” the statement said in part. “However, we remain committed to providing healthy meal options for all students while working diligently to proactively prevent future debt reoccurrences.
The school district’s announcement was released as a GoFundMe also raised enough money to pay off its meal balance.
“My heart is overwhelmed with emotion, astonishment, and gratitude as I wake up to the incredible news that we’ve achieved our goal in under 48 hours! We can pay off all the meal balances and no cheese sandwiches!” GoFundMe organizer Jasmine Crowe-Houston said.
Crowe-Houston said in a statement that she was made aware of the corporate foundation’s grant that not only paid for the City Schools of Dectaur’s lunch debt but of several other school districts in the area as well.
“I can’t thank everyone enough for elevating this issue - I am happy to know the balance for the students has been cleared and that students will not receive an alternative lunch of a cheese sandwich and milk,” she said in a statement.
She said the GoFundMe donations had not been given to the school. Houston-Crowe said that while she still offered the money, the district declined and said the funds should go toward another cause.
Crowe-Houston said she has now reached out to GoFundMe to issue refunds to those who donated.
A school district in Georgia said it would give cheese sandwiches to students with excessive meal charges.
Copyright 2024 Gray Media Group, Inc. All rights reserved. WANF contributed to this report.