ST. GEORGE, Utah — Two local business owners are joining forces to help eliminate growing school lunch debt in the Washington County School District through an upcoming fundraiser.
Jolen Pace, owner of Zion Canyon Brew Hub, noticed parents within the district were receiving letters about unpaid school lunch debt.
"We feel like we have a great platform, being that we have this venue, we can provide events and event space because there were a lot of people that seemed to want to help out," Pace said.
After deciding to host a fundraiser to combat the school lunch debt problem, Pace reached out to her sister-in-law, Ashley Pace, who owns Zion Brewery Station Two in St. George.
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"It was their idea and then they came to me and I said yes, absolutely, and jumped right on board," Ashley Pace said.
The problem has grown significantly in recent months, according to district officials.
Steven Dunham, Director of Communications and Foundation for Washington County School District, reports that the district is facing approximately $55,000 in outstanding lunch debt.
"We're looking at approximately $55,000 of outstanding lunch debt in the district, and that's up $20,000 over last year so that's a huge increase, and we don't really know why," Dunham said.
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When lunch debt accumulates, schools must make up the difference, potentially pulling funds from other educational programs.
"That could affect your own child even though your own child's balance is paid, but they're in a program that we might have to pull some funds or the school will have to pull some funds to make up that deficit," Dunham said.
For Jolen Pace, the fundraiser aims to do more than just collect money.
"We want to raise funds, but we also want to raise awareness that this is a problem in our community, there are ways we can change this," she said.
Some parents involved in the initiative hope to eventually achieve universal free school lunch for all students, using this event to draw attention to the issue and potentially spark policy changes.
Dunham expressed gratitude for the community support.
"It's a big hardship on our schools to have to cover this balance so to have community members step up like this,s recognizing that we can make a big impact on our schools and the education that's taking place," he said.
The fundraiser will take place on May 31 at Zion Brewery Station in St. George. The event will have a $5 cover charge, and all food sales will be donated to the school district to help reduce lunch debt.
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