A food service worker assists students at the Center Grove Elementary School cafeteria earlier this year. A new initiative called Every Kid Eats aims to eliminate school meal debt in Johnson County.
Photo provided by Center Grove Schools
When they saw families struggling with the price of school meals, they decided they needed to help them.
Center Grove area resident Suzanne Fortenberry doesn’t have children, but said she could empathize with families facing a financial burden as the holiday season approached. So around Thanksgiving, she teamed up with Center Grove parent Nicole Kemp to create the Every Kid Eats initiative. The goal: to try and pay off at least some of the school meal debt accrued by Johnson County families.
The U.S. Department of Agriculture (USDA) implemented universal free meals during the 2020-21 and 2021-22 school years nationwide to help with food insecurity during the COVID-19 pandemic. With the program, the USDA reimbursed schools for the meals served during the school day. That program for this school year, shifting costs back to families.
“We don’t touch any of the money. We just give the link for people to donate $5, $10, $20, whatever they can. Together, we can put a dent in the debt,” Fortenberry said. “Kids can’t pay off debt so it’s to give families a little relief during the holiday season.”
The “Every Kid Eats-Johnson County Indiana” Facebook page had 339 members as of Thursday. Soon after the page formed, the offerings started pouring in as members saw links to the school district’s meal debt donation page. At Center Grove, about half of the $6,500 debt faced by somewhere between 650 and 700 students districtwide was erased, said Shannon Maples, the school district’s food service director.
“Suzanne Fortenberry contacted me after she created the Facebook group ‘Every Kid Eats’ and said many community members were already on board to help with negative balances on accounts for students,” Maples said. “Our goal was to reach $3,200 and we met that goal within two weeks.”
While the school district will always give students food no matter how much debt they’ve accrued, school officials used the donations to match meal debt payments. If a family’s debt was $50, for example, they would have to pay just $25, with the school district paying the other $25. The donations will help those families when previously they might not have been able to pay, she said.
“There’s definitely a need in Johnson County. As we know, food insecurity can happen in rich or poor communities; it doesn’t discriminate,” Maples said. “These are real-life people suffering problems and dilemmas with inflation rates out of control. This was a way to help families in need.”
Kemp said she understood the importance of giving back because she used to be in a similar position.
“I was a single mom at one point, and I remember not being able to pay book rental every year. Trying to pay it all seemed like so much,” Kemp said. “I saw this as a way to free up families and give them confidence in their finances.”
The movement didn’t stop with Center Grove, however. Members of the Facebook group are now raising money to eliminate some of the about $12,000 in school meal debt students are facing at Clark-Pleasant Community School Corporation.
The fundraising drive isn’t over yet, but donors gave $340 to pay off meal debt at Clark-Pleasant as of last weekend, according to a post on the Facebook page. The donations will help families struggling to make ends meet as prices rise, said Kim Combs, food service director at Clark-Pleasant schools.
“I think it will help families with two working parents, who maybe don’t have the best paying job and are struggling with increased prices,” she said. “Food, utilities, everything has gone up. Their budgets are stretched too tight and maybe this will help them in the interim.”
While Kemp and Fortenberry have their sights set on decreasing school meal debt across Johnson County, they are now in the process of finalizing a partnership with Greenwood Community School Corporation to pay off some of the $11,466 in debt spread across 381 students, Fortenberry said in a Facebook post confirmed by Terry Terhune, superintendent of Greenwood schools.
The Energy Spot, a health food restaurant with a location in the Center Grove area, raised $1,500 to remove school lunch debt at North Grove Elementary School, and although the donation was separate from the Every Kid Eats initiative, Fortenberry and Kemp are trying to spread the word to get more businesses involved. Their search has already yielded one successful partnership: Bargersville Wellness, a barber shop, salon, spa and yoga studio.
Between Jan. 17 and Feb. 7, 40% of sales from add-on services and 5% of all product sales will go toward paying off school meal debt. Add-on services include: nose waxes, hair treatments, lip waxes and conditioning treatments. The proceeds will primarily help pay off debt at Center Grove, Clark-Pleasant and Greenwood schools, but clients who have children at other school districts, such as Franklin, Indian Creek and Edinburgh schools, can specify they want their money to go to those schools instead, said Blythe Potter, co-owner of Bargersville Wellness.
“Some people’s kids rely on school for breakfast and lunch and their parents rely on schools for daycare because they have to work,” Potter said. “Whether you have children or not, you should care about our children in the community and take care of the community.”
The donations have shown the generosity of Johnson County residents, Fortenberry said.
“I’m proud of everyone who has donated and shared to try and make a difference in these families’ lives,” she said.
HOW TO HELP
For Center Grove Community School Corporation: visit centergrove.k12.in.us/angelfund
Clark-Pleasant Community School Corporation: visit clarkpleasant.revtrak.net/food-service/donate-meals
More links for other school districts will become available soon.
For up-to-date information, follow “Every Kid Eats-Johnson County” on Facebook or contact your local school district.
