{"id":44916,"date":"2023-01-21T02:34:10","date_gmt":"2023-01-21T02:34:10","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/www.brandon.ddtest.info\/multisite-test\/donations-help-reduce-school-lunch-debt-in-johnson-county\/"},"modified":"2023-01-21T02:34:10","modified_gmt":"2023-01-21T02:34:10","slug":"donations-help-reduce-school-lunch-debt-in-johnson-county","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"http:\/\/www.brandon.ddtest.info\/multisite-test\/donations-help-reduce-school-lunch-debt-in-johnson-county\/","title":{"rendered":"Donations help reduce school lunch debt in Johnson County"},"content":{"rendered":"

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Along with fruit and french fries, Center Grove students are getting served a side of kindness.<\/p>\n

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JOHNSON COUNTY, Ind. \u2014 There’s a group of neighbors in Johnson County making it their mission to fight food insecurity in schools.\u00a0<\/p>\n<\/p><\/div>\n

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They’re taking a bite out of school lunch debt.<\/p>\n<\/p><\/div>\n

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Their efforts – and the surprising amount they’ve already paid – is a story that’s Inspiring Indiana<\/a>.<\/p>\n<\/p><\/div>\n

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Along with fruit and french fries, students in Center Grove are getting served a side of kindness. Neighbors are paying off their school lunch debt.<\/p>\n<\/p><\/div>\n

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“I just love seeing the community come together come to make a difference,” said organizer Suzanne Fortenberry.<\/p>\n<\/p><\/div>\n

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“It’s such a relief for so many families,” said Shannon Maples, Center Grove Schools’ food and nutrition director. “So many families have been touched by this and it’s a humbling experience.”<\/p>\n<\/p><\/div>\n

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“Every Kid Eats – Johnson County” started on Facebook<\/a> after Thanksgiving. A group of women noticed lunch debt was starting to skyrocket: $6,500 in the red districtwide.\u00a0<\/p>\n<\/p><\/div>\n

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Inflation, plus Congress ending the free-lunch-for-all meal program, put family budgets at the brink.<\/p>\n<\/p><\/div>\n

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“During the pandemic, everybody got free school lunches. So now, this is coming back, trying to figure out a way to pay this bill that they haven’t had for the past two years,” Fortenberry said.\u00a0<\/p>\n<\/p><\/div>\n

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Kids are never denied a meal, but debt for mom and dad can pile up. It’s why ordinary citizens added donations to the menu.<\/p>\n<\/p><\/div>\n

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“People want to give,” said Fortenberry. “You give them an opportunity, people want to help people.”<\/p>\n<\/p><\/div>\n

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Hundreds of neighbors joined in. Local businesses, too. The total donation quickly climbed into the thousands.<\/p>\n<\/p><\/div>\n

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“Two weeks and we were right around $3,250. We raised over $3,000,” Fortenberry said.<\/p>\n<\/p><\/div>\n

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That’s half the district’s lunch debt, wiped away in weeks.<\/p>\n<\/p><\/div>\n

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“A huge response,” said Nicole Kemp, a Center Grove parent. “It was just surprising to me how many people came together and wanted to help and we’re excited and we’re sharing it.”<\/p>\n<\/p><\/div>\n

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Every Kid Eats is now spreading to other schools, helping families in Clark-Pleasant and Greenwood, too.<\/p>\n<\/p><\/div>\n

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“And as somebody who was a struggling mom at some point in my life, it’s really nice to be able to see that there’s a way to help somebody that doesn’t feel they can help themselves,” Kemp added.<\/p>\n<\/p><\/div>\n

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Taking financial stress off their plates.<\/p>\n<\/p><\/div>\n

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