(PHOTOS) Community shows up to erase student lunch debt

CASPER, Wyo. — In local schools, the quality of school lunches students receive is dependent on the family’s financial standing in paying for those lunches. On Saturday, dozens of community members took part in the inaugural Feeding Natrona County’s Future fundraiser, hosted by local organization Full Plates Full Hearts.

In Natrona County schools, students in good standing on lunch payments are able to enjoy robust lunches with a variety of options. However, students who are behind on payments and fall into at least $15 of lunch debt are given very different meals, Full Plates Full Hearts member Tosca Ball said.

“The free lunch a sandwich — I don’t even want to call it a sandwich; it’s two pieces of whole grain bread with a couple very thin slices of ham and cheese, or whatever else they have available, and a carton of milk,” Ball said. “That’s all they get.”

“How can you expect a kid to do well in math class when they haven’t had nearly enough food to keep their energy up,” Full Plates Full Hearts co-founder Frank Grillo added. “It’s just not healthy.”

To drive home their point, sandwiches were served at Saturday’s function as a form of hors d’oeuvres.

And, Ball said, the lunch debt program also has social ramifications.

“If you’re a kid, and everyone around you is eating cheeseburgers or lasagna, and you’re eating a tiny ham and cheese sandwich, you’re going to feel singled out,” she said.

In Natrona County, Ball said, roughly 1,800 students are in lunch debt. The combined amount owed is approximately $33,000.

At Saturday’s Feeding Natrona County’s Future fundraiser, attendees took part in raffles, a silent auction and more. Items up for grabs included firearms, handbags and other accessories, a variety of outdoor supplies and packages from various local businesses.

Grillo said early estimates suggest that the current total amount of student lunch debt will be able to be paid off.

“The community came together like I wouldn’t believe, and it looks like we’re going to be able to pull this off,” Grillo said. “A lot of headway was made before tonight, though.

Grillo and Ball agreed that the turnout exceeded their expectations, especially since this is the inaugural fundraiser. Looking to the future, Full Plates Full Hearts hopes to turn this into an annual event.

“We’ll do this again next year, and the year after that and the year after that,” Grillo said. “We’ll do it until every kid is being adequately fed and we don’t have to anymore.”