Fighting student lunch debt together

Students in Green River are giving back to make sure that their peers stay fed and the school district stays supported, and they're getting help from the First Lady of Wyoming to do so.  

The Green River High School Student Council donated $1,000 toward student lunch debt in Sweetwater County School District No. 2 this year, and last week they received a matching check for an additional $1,000 from First Lady Jennie Gordon. 

"Thank you for helping your peers in school pay for their school lunch debt, and thank you for taking care of your neighbors," Gordon said during a presentation of a check and plaque to the Student Council. "It's really important, and we appreciate it because it's helping all around the state, and you should be very proud of yourselves."

First Lady Gordon, who launched the Wyoming Hunger Initiative program to fight food insecurity, explained that student councils across the state have gotten together to help other students with meal debt. 

"As they raise their funds, the Hunger Initiative is able to come in and match those funds, and that is to help defray the cost of kids' school lunches who maybe just don't qualify for free or reduced but can't quite make the heavy lift," she explained. 

The GRHS Student Council first learned about this program last November at the state conference for student councils.

"The first lady was there awarding other councils for their donations and matching it and we thought that was such a cool idea, so we came back and decided to do it as well," Marisa Kalinski, the Student Council Advisor, explained. 

The students raised money through some of the fundraisers they put on in the spring as part of the new Love Local program and around the same time period. They set, and met, a goal of donating $1,000 toward lunch debt in the school district. 

"I don't know the exact number, but I know that our school lunch program is at least $5,000 in debt with school lunch," Kalinski explained. "Our district doesn't turn away kids and will feed everyone, which is amazing, but makes that debt continue to rise." 

The policy of not turning away any students was explained by Leah Kennison, the district's Nutrition Services Supervisor, during the presentation with First Lady Gordon. 

"We don't turn anyone away, ever," Kennison said. "Every kid gets a meal, and they get the same meal as the person in front of them." 

Kennison said it is a mission of the SCSD No. 2 Board of Trustees to make sure every student is fed. She explained that they believe it is not the fault of the child, and that they work closely with parents to try to help. The district also has a Pay It Forward program, Kennison explained, which helps families with extenuating circumstances. She gave the example of a family that could be facing significant medical debt, even though their income may be too high for them to qualify for free or reduced lunch programs. 

First Lady Gordon applauded the school district's policy to not turn students away, as did Carla Banks. Banks works with the Wyoming Department of Education and has worked with USDA Child Nutrition Programs. 

"We see all the school meal programs, and right now in this school year we're seeing a debt of about $200,000 across the state that children have been unable to pay for their school meals," Banks explained of the need across Wyoming. 

Banks added that Wyoming has 89,000 school-aged kids, and about 41% of students are on free or reduced lunch programs, showing the level of poverty and need across the state. Because of this, she praised the GRHS Student Council for their help. 

"You guys doing this is huge," she said. "Helping your community is huge. We don't ever want kids to go without a meal."

The Student Council students have demonstrated through their actions that they agree. 

"We are so excited to be able to help families in need here in Sweetwater County and are so proud that our donation is being used for a good cause," Kalinski said.