Donations wipe out all student lunch debt at Dixon’s Jefferson Elementary in 24 hours

DIXON – In less than 24 hours, Jefferson Elementary School’s lunch debt, which stood at $1,168, has been paid off through a donation campaign organized by the mother of a third-grade student.

Destiny McElhinney said she began fundraising last week after she saw another Jefferson student denied milk because they had too high of an unpaid balance on their lunch account. By Friday, she had collected $150 in donations.

After an article about the effort was published by Shaw Local on Tuesday, the donations almost tripled, and Brett Nicklaus of Trinity Cares, a veterans nonprofit organization, pitched in to take the balance to zero, McElhinney said in an interview with Shaw Local on Wednesday.

“I have so many people reaching out asking how they can help, discussing going to city meetings and taking action,” she said.

[ Dixon mom raising money to pay off student lunch debt at Jefferson Elementary ]

“I’m thankful for it. I knew the community would step up, but I’m just blown away.”

With her original goal now complete, McElhinney and Nicklaus have a new goal of raising $9,600 to pay off student lunch debt at all of Dixon’s public schools. As of Wednesday, they’re about a third of the way there, McElhinney said.

They’re also considering turning this effort into its own foundation, calling it the “Eat Without Shame” program, McElhinney said.

“I’m happy. I can’t tell you how many times I cried today – happy tears – but I definitely did not expect this,” McElhinney said.

Growing debt on student lunch accounts is something that the district faces every year, Dixon School District 170 Superintendent Margo Empen said in an interview with Shaw Local.

For students in kindergarten to fifth grade, a hot lunch, which comes with milk, is $3 and for grades six to 12 it’s $3.05. Students in kindergarten to 12th grade can buy a separate milk for 65 cents, Empen said.

If students are unable to pay, “we will never, ever let them go without a lunch,” Empen said.

Instead, the cafeteria staff will charge the amount to the student’s account, and it becomes an outstanding balance. Sometimes the charges add up and don’t get paid for a variety of reasons, Empen said.

To get balances paid off, the district works with the students' parents to either set up a payment plan or help them sign up for the free and reduced lunch program if they meet the income requirements, Empen said.

“We’ve had very generous individuals, companies and families over the years who have raised money to pay off these debts so parents don’t have to worry about coming up with that money,” Empen said.