Melodie (10) and Madysen (9) choose a charity every year with their parents to donate to. This year they had their friends in mind. After an upsetting firsthand experience with an unfortunate situation they decided to raise money for a very important need.
One day their mom noticed how much they ate after school, which was unusual and asked what was going on. For a whole week, one of the sisters had eaten only bread for lunch. While their dad was transitioning between companies and things got tight, the family accidentally had an unpaid school lunch bill that was overlooked for a short time. The negative balance notice never got back to the girls parents. When they tried to purchase lunch they were unable to do so. They were offered them cheese sandwiches instead. One of the girls (who didn't eat cheese) ended up eating bread all week.
Their school district is large and students come from many backgrounds. Some are doing well enough financially. However, many students receive free or reduced cost lunch. There is also another group of students that falls somewhere in between these families do not have a large household income, yet make too much to qualify for the free lunch program. For those who qualify for reduced lunch, and even those buying at full cost, the amount can be a burden on families. Many students have a debt and are not receiving hot lunch.
Beyond the nutritional and financial aspect, this reality takes an emotional toll on these students. It becomes a source of embarrassment and shame, placing undue focus on the children's financial status at too early an age. This is lunch time. A time for nourishment, relaxing and gaining energy to sustain oneself throughout the day. It is also a time for friendship. This policy cuts into each one of these objectives in a very stigmatizing way.
Melodie and Madysen came up with the idea to do something about it. They set up a donation fund for the Plattekill School Lunch Account. It costs $3 to purchase school lunch. For some, this is not much and their donation could help a child who otherwise would not have the amount needed. Melodie and Madysen set a goal to raise $2000 and so far have raised $1531. Since they choose a donation every year, their mom supported them in doing this but it was important because as she said, "This year they actually get it. They understand what they are doing and want to help; they are good kids with big hearts. "
**To help the girls reach their goal and help bring a hot lunch back to the children who have debts, you can go to the donation page on facebook here. **
