Keeping the lunches coming

CLINTONVILLE — For some families, it’s not always easy to keep up on paying for school lunches, and some fall behind.

When the debt builds enough, the school will usually take action — whether it’s just a cold sandwich or another alternative. When that happens, some students feel ostracized.

In the Clintonville School District, one business owner decided he was going to help most of the families in his community that have fallen behind. On Friday, during the community’s annual tree lighting ceremony, Jeremy Lewallen, owner of Jeremy’s Tree Service, set up an old butter churn for community members to donate money toward those meal debts. He promised to match those donations, dollar for dollar, up to $2,000.

Lewallen checked with the district in early November and found that $4,100 was owed at the time in meal payments, which is what prompted him to set his goal. Lewallen said Tuesday that community members gave $361, which he will match, but he also received $1,050 in outside donations, bringing the total for the fundraiser to $1,772.

“I wanted to do something good for the city, and I wanted to do something that directly affected the city,” Lewallen said. “Everyone wants to do something for hunger, and this is something that isn’t ordinarily done.”

Lewallen noted that some of the families who owe for meals make too much money to qualify for free and reduced meals but still are living paycheck to paycheck.

“They don’t make enough money to cover all those expenses in life, and one of those expenses is school lunches,” Lewallen said. “They’re right in the middle, and those are the people we are targeting to help.”

Lewallen said he was fortunate enough to be raised in a family that could afford school meals, but he chose the issue as his way of paying it forward to thank the community for supporting his business, which began three years ago.

He added that he hopes to continue to give back to the community, although perhaps not always by paying off student meals. If Lewallen learns of a more urgent need, he said he plans to switch gears.

“I just know the importance of doing good,” Lewallen said. “You help when you can help.”

David Dyb, the district’s superintendent, was very appreciative of Lewallen’s generosity and thanked him right after the lights went on for the community Christmas tree, which Lewallen also sponsored.

“I think this is a wonderful and generous thing he’s doing,” Dyb said. “This is just an example of the Clintonville community stepping up to help everyone in our community at this time of year.”

Dyb noted that about 60% of the district’s elementary students qualify for free and reduced-price meals, with a lower number of middle and high school students also qualifying. He encouraged the families who are falling behind to check with the district to see if their income levels qualify them for the service, as the district receives aid to pay for those meals based on the number of students who meet the criteria.

Rep. Gary Tauchen, R-Bonduel, introduced Assembly Bill 84 earlier this year, which addressed student meal debts. Besides forbidding “lunch shaming,” which happens when students are publicly called out because families are behind in paying for meals, the bill would also allow any donations to pay off meal debts to be tax deductible.

The bill was introduced by the Assembly Education Committee in May and a public hearing was held, according to Tauchen spokesman Craig Arrowood, but there has been no action on it since then.

Dyb said he has not read the proposed bill, but he wants anything that is beneficial to students to move forward and succeed.

“Anything that I think would be in support of our students and families should definitely be taken in a positive light,” Dyb said. “Let’s see how this unfolds.”

For those who would like to help Lewallen help the students in Clintonville School District pay off meal debts, he is accepting donations by mail at N10780 County Road Y, Clintonville, WI 54929.

lpulaski@newmedia-wi.com