FORT MILL, SC (AP) – An alumni group in one South Carolina school district is helping pay students’ lunch debt.
Fort Mill School District spokesman Joe Burke says as of June 18, the most recent information available, students had about $12,000 in combined student lunch debt.
The Herald reports the Fort Mill Ol’ School Crowd is gathering donations to cover that balance.
Each school has an Angel Fund, in which community members can donate to ease students’ negative lunch balances. Jean Deese, an alumni who helped start the debt relief effort, says they’ve been donating to that fund for about two years now. She says students with balances are given an alternative lunch that makes the kids feel different and can lead to bullying.
Deese says they’ve raised more than $5,000 since starting the effort.
