Brier Helping Brier and Pack the Park raise funds to pay down student lunch debt

Pack the Park
Photos courtesy Shoreline Schools

According to an article in MLTNews.com, the Brier Helping Brier organization held an event to raise funds to pay down student lunch debt for students at Brier Elementary School, Brier Terrace Middle School and Mountlake Terrace High School who qualified for the free/reduced lunch program and owed a balance for school lunches.

They raised $12,000 which went to the three schools.

"These children and youth can now focus on learning without the worry of this unpaid debt, Brier Helping Brier said in a news release."

In Lake Forest Park, this year's Pack the Park event benefiting Shoreline School District's Angel Fund and Third Place Commons was a fantastic 5K event full of fun, food, and philanthropy!

The annual tradition raised $2,800 this year, which will go toward relieving student meal debt.

A bit more about school meal debt in Shoreline Schools

This school year, a family of four earning just one dollar over $57,720 does not qualify for school meal assistance and must pay full price. Shoreline School District does not allow students to go hungry at school, so when families can’t afford to pay, meal debt quickly adds up—becoming a burden on both families and school district budgets.

Many students with meal debt come from families earning too much to qualify for free meals, but too little to afford them. In Washington State, over 257,000 children are considered food insecure.

Nationally, school meal debt has reached $176 million a year, with 87% of school districts reporting more students unable to pay for meals. Shoreline School District is no exception.

Before the pandemic, our district’s annual meal debt was about $5,000—and that was before five of our elementary schools offered free meals. This year, that number has climbed to over $20,000—the highest it has ever been.

Without state or federal subsidies, districts like ours must pull from local education funds to cover meal program losses—money that could be supporting classrooms, not covering lunch bills.

"Thank you to Deci Evans at Kind and Co. Events and all who gave your time, your energy, and your commitment to Pack the Park. You truly are SuperHeroes in the fight against food insecurity."

You can contribute to the Angel Fund here