Pay Off the School Lunch Debt

Call the elementary school down the street, ask what the negative lunch balances add up to, and pay them off. It's usually a few hundred dollars, and it stops the collection letters.

CategoryThe Hungry

Time20 min

Cost$100–$500

ModeAlone · With a friend · With a group

A kid with a negative lunch balance knows it. The line goes quiet, the tray gets swapped, and a letter goes home to a mom who already knows she’s behind. One phone call ends that for a whole campus.

Start with the school your kids walk past. Then ask the district which campus has the biggest number.

What you'll need

The main office number for one school
A card, or a check made out to the district's nutrition department
The words anonymous and no press release

What to say

Hi — I'd like to pay off the negative lunch balances for your campus. Can you tell me what the total is right now? And I'd rather my name not be attached to it.

Pitfalls

Ask for the total before you promise anything. Some campuses are $180 and some are $4,000.
Say anonymous out loud. Schools will want to thank you publicly, and the families are the ones who'd get looked at.
Ask them to apply it oldest first. The oldest balances are the ones already in collections.

If you pour yourself out for the hungry and satisfy the desire of the afflicted, then shall your light rise in the darkness. — Isaiah 58:10