:

ladypolitik:

theconcealedweapon:

“But helping poor people should be voluntary.”

And even when it is, people still have a problem with it.

I went back and did some digging, because it occured to me that I didn’t know the date reference of this story and, sadly, there are way too many stories about school lunch debt that they’re easy to mix up.

This particular story was from July 2019 (I reblogged it Sept 2022).

There was a relevant update within a week of the scandal: public outrage was swift, the embarrassed school board redacted the outrageous allusions to indebted students ending up in foster care, and it accepted the CEO’s $20k donation.

It doesnt change the fact that the very concept of “school lunch debt” is disturbing and inhumane (and there are still stories about children…with lunch debt…). And clearly, the district changed it’s tone because it didn’t like the bad PR. But figured it was helpful to have more info and context.

Here are some of the relevant sources; each offer bits of info unique to each specific source:

1) “Pennsylvania school district turns down local businessman’s offer to pay off student lunch debts”

2) “Pennsylvania district sorry it warned that lunch debt could lead to foster care, accepts $22K donation”

3) “Pa. School District Reverses Course And Will Now Accept Donations To Cover Lunch Debt”

4) “Pennsylvania school lunch debt furor ends with an apology and an announcement: free lunch for all”

Remember: Public outrage can and does solve problems.

(via decadentworld)