A local nonprofit that funds school lunches for students who will otherwise not receive a hot meal is in need of donations for the new school year. An average of 15 children in Lafayette Parish schools go without lunch each school day because they don't have the money to pay for it.
It's a statistic that Louisiana Lunch Money has been working to address since the Legislature passed a measure that prohibits students from "charging" their lunch if they don't have money or don't qualify for free or reduced lunch. Those students are given a snack instead, such as graham crackers and milk.
According to The Advertiser, Lunch Money founder Cerrisa Couvillion says the organization covers lunches for 230 students daily in Lafayette Parish at a cost of roughly $400 a day:
The Louisiana Lunch Money funds are not meant to provide long-term lunch money assistance. Instead, the funds are meant for children whose families may forget to send lunch money on a particular day, whose parents may not be aware of a delinquent lunch account, or whose families may be experiencing unusual circumstances and hardships and do not have the money to pay for lunch.
The money raised through donations and other fundraising efforts is quickly depleting, Couvillon says, prompting concerns that hundreds of students in Lafayette Parish will go hungry at school.
To help Couvillon's cause, Sonic Drive-In restaurants in Lafayette will donate 10 percent of the profits they receive from 5 to 8 p.m. on Sept. 20. Tips given to carhops will also go toward feeding LPSS students.
Visit the Louisiana Lunch Money website for more information on how to help.