Radio Station Helps Pay Robbinsdale School Lunch Debt

A local radio station is assisting a Robbinsdale elementary school with its school lunch debt. On Monday, Cities 97 started a GoFundMe account to help pay down lunch debt at Lakeview Elementary School. They raised $4,000 in just two hours.

Sixty-seven percent of students at Lakeview Elementary are on free or reduced-price lunch. School staff say there is often a lag time when parents are notified whether their student has been approved for lunch assistance, and during that time, parents have to pay the full cost of lunches. That’s when the debt starts to add up.

“It’s a very common problem,” said Adele Lillie, nutrition services director in the Robbinsdale School District. “As a district, we have chosen to feed the students regardless of whether they have money or not. We try to work very closely with families.”

Lakeview Elementary Principal Bridget Hall says the school has $3,800 of lunch debt from this year and more than $4,000 from the previous year.

At last check, the GoFundMe effort raised $5,468 of its $8,680 goal.