Rhode Island Schools Revoke Lunch Debt Policy That Denied Kids Hot Food | Eater

"After national outrage, the district canceled a controversial plan to bar students with past-due lunch debts from buying hot items such as pizza and fries and instead offer a “balanced lunch” of a sun butter and jelly sandwich, vegetables, fruit, and milk. Critics — including parents, celebrities like Alec Baldwin, and Chobani founder Hamdi Ulukaya, who donated nearly $50,000 to help clear the debt — said the policy would publicly shame students and reveal families' financial status. The district noted that 72 percent of its $77,000 total lunch debt had been accrued by paying students rather than those on the free and reduced program, a statistic Vox argued ignores families who earn just above the eligibility cutoff. Observers say one-off donations and GoFundMe efforts provide temporary relief but do not address the broader, structural problems driving widespread school lunch debt." - Jenny G. Zhang