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When Dickie and Tammy Spargo learned that North Carolina students owed more than $1-million in school lunch debt they were heartbroken. Wanting to do something to help the problem, the senior pastor at City Church in Gastonia contacted his local school district in Gaston County. He found out that families in their area schools owed over $13-thousand, so he turned to his congregation to help.
One Sunday, Pastor Dickie took up an offering at his Charlotte-area church and they were able to raise $23-thousand to take care of the local students’ school lunch debt. The money will pay off the current debt and the balance will go toward paying for meals for students for the rest of this school year and into next. Director of school nutrition for Gaston County Schools, Angela Calamia, says they’re grateful for the donation from the church.
The problem of school lunch debt is common across the country, but the pastor is hoping his state government can come up with a more permanent solution. He calls feeding students in need “the right thing to do," and says the state should “make sure every kid in North Carolina has a hot meal when they go to school.”
Source: WCNC