Members of the Little Rock Food Commission are asking for donations to help pay off school lunch debt. At a press conference Wednesday, LRSD Superintendent Jermall Wright said the district's nutrition department is struggling to bridge the gap between underfunded school budgets and unpaid student lunch debt.
“Time and time again our community has stepped up to support our students, and we believe this is another moment we can come together to ensure that no child has to worry about whether they can afford to eat,” Wright said.
Little Rock Mayor Frank Scott Jr. said the issue is “monumental,” and called for policies and funding to address school lunch debt. The Little Rock Board of Directors created the city’s Food Commission in March of last year to address the area’s growing food insecurity. A report from nonprofit Feeding America found Arkansas is the most food-insecure state in the U.S.
Stephanie Walker Hynes is a Little Rock food commissioner and the school nutritionist for LRSD. She said the district’s total school lunch debt was over $174,000 dollars on Tuesday.
“That number is not just a statistic, it represents real children and real classrooms who are trying to learn while their families struggle to afford basic needs,” Walker Hynes said. “No child should have to worry about whether or not they can eat a meal at school.”
She urged community members and organizations to support child nutrition.
“We have the power to lift this burden and to ensure that every student is treated with dignity and care.”
Commission member and restaurateur Deanna Jones Barlogie praised Walker Hynes’ work, saying she has used grants from the USDA to raise the quality of school meals and promote more local food in schools. Those grants have now been cancelled, Barlogie said.
“This grant goes beyond what it does to help our students, it also helps local farmers have a steady market to sell their products, strengthening our community and giving our students the nutrition they need to learn,” she added. “We are calling on Congress to invest in these programs and not cut them.”
Walker Hynes said the debt comes from 13 schools throughout Little Rock, including Little Rock Central High, Parkview High, Forest Heights Elementary, and Pulaski Heights Middle School.
Commissioners said tax-deductible donations can be made to the City of Little Rock with the memo line “Little Rock Cares lunch on us”
