ST CHARLES, Mo. — Through the Lunch Heroes program in the Francis Howell School District, community members can donate money to students needing assistance in paying for meals.
The Lunch Hero program started in the 2017-2018 school year.
Since then, nearly $100,000 have been donated by community members, helping hundreds of kids.
The 23 schools in the district are a part of the program.
Superintendent Kenneth Roumpos said students need the help now more than ever.
"The current balance that we have for all of our students is higher than it's ever been," Roumpos said.
Jessica Karll is the principal of Central Elementary and she said this program helps relieve some pressure.
"For some of our families, we're talking as little as $30 and for some families, we are talking in the hundreds of dollars. We do have students that come to school hungry," she said.
Roumpos points out that federal funding has been cut off this year.
"Because of the last couple of years during COVID, we were able to provide free food to all of our students. With that ending this year, we are seeing an increase need," he added. "The reality is we have three Title I schools in our district and we have 15% of our students who qualify for the free and reduced program."
But Karll said not every family takes advantage of the free and reduced lunch program, even if they need it.
"The economy is in a tough place right now and inflation is higher and costs of foods have gone up," Roumpos said.
Karll said that every couple of weeks, administrators look to see how the balance is.
From there, they apply it based on need and reach out to families.
The goal is to address hunger, allowing children to focus on why they are there: to learn and grow.
"That $7 to $10 could buy a meal for a student and go a long way," Karll said.
It costs $50 to provide lunch for a month, but even $5 can help with a meal.
If you'd like to donate, you can click here.