Dec. 21—Stillwater High School freshman Daxon Renollet saw the social media posts about the school lunch debt and its effect in the Stillwater Public Schools district — and decided to take action.

Every year, freshman in the Stillwater FFA program take part in the “$5 Challenge” — a challenge that the Stillwater FFA has become known for and which garnered them the 2023 Premier Chapter award for Building Communities at the 96th FFA National Convention.

Renollet, 14, sat down with his mother, Erin Renollet, to discuss the kind of project he could take on and what needs were the most pressing in the community.

“We considered doing something with the homeless shelter,” Erin said. “One example was socks for the homeless. … It’s very important for me to teach my children to give back and have a servant’s heart.”

That’s when Renollet thought about school lunch debt balances and helping the SPS Pioneer Pantry and Nutrition Services feed more students.

Because of his schedule, Renollet eats with the eighth-graders, and he sees a lot of students who don’t get lunch every day.

“I just thought it was a bad thing that kids couldn’t get lunches because they had to pay money for it, so I thought I could help with that,” Renollet said. “… I’ve also been in the lunch line — because you can buy water bottles and stuff — and I see people in debt all the time. And a lot of people can’t get stuff, and it makes me feel bad.”

Renollet set up a GoFundMe account with a brief description stating his goal of raising $500, and then shared the link on his social media.

The $500 goal was met in one weekend.

Surprised, Renollet raised the goal to $1,000. Overall, nearly 40 people donated to the fund.

“He had no idea that so many people would donate,” Erin said.

At the Dec. 12 SPS Board of Education meeting, Renollet presented a $1,000 check to SPS Nutrition Director Krista Neal.

FFA Advisor Robby Branscum said the “$5 Challenge” helps students learn to make the biggest impact in their school or community by showing that even with a small amount of cash, students can make a big difference.

“We’ve never had a student raise what (Renollet) raised,” Branscum said.

Neal said Renollet’s donation would cover 350 lunches at the Stillwater Middle School, Stillwater Junior High School or SHS.

“We’ve never had any donation specifically from a student,” Neal said.

Neal said another way to help with the school lunch debt is for parents to fill out an application for reduced or free lunches, or to help their friends apply.

“We know some families would qualify if they just apply,” Neal said. “There are other benefits related to the application. Families who qualify can get reduced fees for youth sports, college entrance exams and college applications.”

This year, around 1,800 students had negative balances totaling $41,450. Many of those will be paid off by the end of the semester, making the total owed around $39,000, said SPS Communications Coordinator Barry Fuxa.

Meals for students in grades Pre-K to fifth grade cost $2.60 per meal, while meals for students in sixth-12th grades cost $2.85 per meal.

Once approved, a free and reduced status applies for the duration of the year.

“There’s no need for anyone to feel embarrassed about applying, as we ask all families, regardless of income, to apply for free and reduced lunches,” Fuxa said. “Free and reduced meals are supported by the federal government, so applying for those — whether you think you qualify or not — is a good way to help make sure Oklahoma tax dollars are working for Oklahomans, to provide a great financial support to school districts and families and, most importantly, to make sure all kids are getting the vital nutrition they need to grow, learn and be happy.”