You might be shocked to learn just how deep the school lunch debt problem goes. When Virginia resident Sarah Stusek set out to help a few students clear their lunch balances, she had no idea she was stepping into a much larger issue.
Sarah, who runs a content production company and works with the Proper Help Foundation, thought she would be paying off a few hundred—or maybe up to $2,000—at two local schools. Instead, she was told that the entire Alexandria City Public School District had one combined debt account, and that total came to $29,720.36.
This was not just a surprise—it was a reality check.
“You cannot do the whole school anymore, they only have one pot of debt for the whole entire district,” she said in a TikTok video that quickly went viral.
Why do students have unpaid school lunch balances?
If you are wondering why this debt even exists, here is what is happening in schools:
- Some families cannot afford lunch but have not applied for free or reduced-price programs.
- In some cases, the system fails to process applications correctly.
- Some schools feed kids cold sandwiches or nothing at all if they owe money.
- Students with debt may be barred from field trips, graduation ceremonies, or school events.
Sarah explained, “Some parents are not able to afford school lunch or they simply have not applied… or they have but it has been coded wrong in the system.”
Can you pay off someone else’s school lunch debt?
You can help, but it is not always as easy as it sounds.
In Alexandria, donations must go through a formal process:
- Donations under $5,000 with no conditions can be approved quickly.
- Donations over $5,000 or those that are “restricted” to specific schools need School Board approval.
- You must donate through the school district’s website and wait for follow-up from the Office of Community Partnerships.
Dr. Eric Coleman, the Director of Food and Nutrition Services, said, “Donations… are classified as a ‘restricted donation’ if the donor designates a specific school or program.”
This system, while meant to protect transparency, can make helping more complicated than it should be.
How much school lunch debt has Sarah already paid off?
Over the past two years, Sarah estimates her foundation has helped pay off over $10,000 in school lunch debt. In one case, she visited Mount Vernon Community School and paid off $1,659.70.
Now, she is dealing with inquiries from all over the country, including:
- $5,000 from a school in Prince George’s County, Maryland
- $500 from a single second-grade student in Lafayette, Louisiana
- Over $15,000 in total new requests
Sarah is not backing down. She said, “They needed help.” And she is doing everything she can to give it.
