Wake school board dismisses request to return to 'meals of shame' amid rising student meal debt

Wake County schools won't return to feeding students only fruit, vegetables and milk when they are in too much debt to pay for a school meal, despite a significant increase in meal debt that's not being covered by philanthropy.

The district in 2024 stopped serving what board members have called a "meal of shame" and allowed students to receive a main course, as well, because of a new districtwide Angel Fund designed to pay for the meals with main courses.

But on Tuesday, district officials said the number of students in debt has skyrocketed and that the donations are no longer enough to pay for the main courses. Continuing to serve them would create too much debt of for the district's child nutrition services department, they said.

On top of that, the child nutrition services department -- which operates based on its own revenues, independent of district funding --has struggled to balance its budget for the last few years, prompting several years in a row of meal price increases.

Board members were hesitant to return to serving the stripped-down meals because they didn't think those meals provided enough food. District officials plan to return at the end of the school year with an update on the debt, and the school board plans to deliberate ways to cover it, whether by repurposing other district funding, finding another funding source or getting creative in another way.

The board's current policy requires the stripped-down meals, but the board had directed the district not to serve them at all, in light of the Angel Fund.

Students have a collective total of $152,000 in meal debt so far this school year, after more than $87,000 in donations. If the numbers hold this school year, the district expects more than $255,000 in meal debt.

The debt incurred is higher than the about $50,000 incurred last year, leading some board members to wonder if some families are taking advantage of the free meals, rather than truly needing them.

"Clearly, some people are taking advantage of not paying, us not charging," Board Vice Chairman Sam Hershey said. Hershey believes many people really need the help and said he can't support only serving students fruit and vegetables for food, especially if they have hours left in the school day after their lunch period.

Board Chairman Tyler Swanson said the board can't assume why someone isn't paying.

"We cannot use this opportunity to potentially shame folks for not covering meals," Swanson said.

Board Member Christina Gordon noted that families can apply for free and reduced-price meals any time during the school year and urged people to do so if they need. She also pressed district officials to make the applications easier to complete, as advertised on the district's homepage.

About 85% of the students in debt aren't part of the free or reduced-price program, said Tiffany Lawrence, district senior director of child nutrition services. But the district can't force anyone to fill out the application.