Monterey man raises money to pay off lunch debt owed by students

“A lot of families qualify for free lunches. Some qualify for reduced cost lunches, and sometimes they still can’t even pay their share,” said Monterey Resident Ken Peterson.

Times have changed. Children are more reliant than ever on schools for their next meal. But what if they don’t have money?

“I asked them do you have a debt, and how much is it, and can you accept a donation to pay it off? They said yes we do, and yes we can,” said Peterson.

With kids of his own in the district, Monterey resident Ken Peterson felt compelled to help out, so he set up a GoFundMe to pay off the lunch debt. Within two weeks he hit his goal.

“It was a 3,000 dollar goal that was designed to wipe out all the debt in the last school year and provide a little reserve for any debt that accumulates in the new school year,” said Peterson.

Every public school in the county offers free and reduced food programs. However, debt is often accumulated if parents don’t sign their child up.

“In our county 73-percent of our students are eligible for that program, compared to 60-percent state wide,” said County Superintendent Dr. Nancy Kotowski.

According to the Monterey County Health Department, over 50-thousand students received school meals in 2014. Data also shows a steady increase in the number of kids participating in the national school lunch program.

“It’s based on the income of the parents in the household. The parents are notified about the program and the eligibility and then it’s up to the parents to apply for it,” said Dr. Kotowski.

Senate bill 250, also known as the Child Hunger Prevention and Fair Treatment Act of 2017 is making its way through the California Legislature. The big idea behind it is to stop lunch shaming in schools. Meaning that regardless of school lunch debt that child need to be served the exact same lunch as all their peers. According to the bill’s author, there have been reports of students who are punished and publicly shamed, with some schools going as far as taking food away from students for debts as low as 30 cents.

“One of the most important things about education is that children are healthy and able to learn,” said Dr. Kotowski.