WEST HAVEN, Utah — One elementary school teacher in West Haven is raising money to pay off school lunch debts through her dance moves and social media. Kati Jo Christensen has collected about $20,000 since January, which has helped pay off debts in 6 schools, and she’s still going.
"I really thought we would maybe get 100 bucks, 200 bucks every once in a while, and then that would be it,” said Christensen, a special education teacher. “But yeah, twenty thousand dollars and it’s not over yet.”
She found out about lunch debt a couple of years ago and started to collect donations in small ways. When she started working at West Haven Elementary School last year, she found that they had about $4,000 in lunch debt, and neighboring schools had outstanding balances too.
"I think a lot about my students, it’s kind of emotional,” said Christensen. “I love my kids, watching kids come to school and maybe they’re hungry or maybe they’re distracted by their hunger, or that’s like the only thing they're thinking about, it’s a lot. They can’t focus on anything else. And if they’re hunger isn’t met or their basic needs aren’t met, school doesn’t stand a chance."
Through her account "MrsCactusVibes" on TikTok, she started posting minute-long TikTok dances. She was able to monetize her account, educate people about the issue of lunch debt and raise money from people around the world who want to help. She has over 47,000 followers and 1.5 million likes on her videos.
To highlight her effort, West Haven City Council recognized Christensen with a community star award.
"We don't see all the good that happens in the community, and when you see something like this come up, especially when it involves children, and helping families, it’s a wonderful thing,” said Christensen.
Her goal is for people to just understand the issue of lunch debt and step up to help.
"I’m doing this for our community and our kids, but it’s nice to at least put a light on it and be like, hey, this is a problem in our area,” added Christensen.
