Jan. 23—Student lunch debt has been erased at five Otsego County school districts thanks to donations from Chobani.
The company donated $12,132 to pay off the debt at Edmeston, Cooperstown, Laurens, Morris and Schenevus school districts, Ali Cappetta, communications manager at Chobani, said in an email. It also paid another $20,000 to pay off the remaining school lunch debt at school districts in Madison and Oneida counties, which helped more than 1,000 families across the three counties. The company chose the three counties to help support the communities in which Chobani operates and where its employees live.
“We were so appreciative to Chobani to help our families out especially in these tough times,” Beth VanDeusen, cafeteria manager at Laurens Central School, said in an email. The district is a Community Eligibility Provision school so students receive free breakfast and lunch, however, if they want ice cream, seconds or an extra item they have to pay. Chobani gave the district $478.45 and it helped 53 families get out of debt.
VanDeusen said the district also has a special fund account that staff put money into. An alumnus has also raised money in previous years for this account. “We use this account to pay off student debt and for students to get seconds if they would like without the cost to parents and also if a student would like an ice cream, we use it for that,” she said. “On Fridays the younger elementary all get ice cream, and no child goes without an ice cream because we use this account.”
Other districts that received this donation have since achieved Community Eligible Provision status, Cappetta said. One of those districts is Edmeston, former Edmeston food service director Jacob Bartlett said in an email. He said prior to receiving the CEP status, “some families were struggling to keep up with lunch and breakfast debt,” and was grateful when Chobani offered to help as families won’t have to worry.
“It was awesome to have Chobani to reach out to us,” he said. “They have done so much for us already without hesitation.” Chobani also donated two small refrigerators to store snacks in for the CROP after school program.
Chobani has been a staunch advocate of clearing school lunch debt, having covered the cost of many school lunch debts in the past, most notably for a school district in Rhode Island, Cappetta said.
“Since day one, Chobani has been committed to providing better food to more people, and to combatting childhood hunger within our communities,” Becca Dittrich, vice president, impact & partnerships at Chobani, said in a statement. “Central New York is our home, it’s our backyard, and we want families in these districts to be able to focus on what matters: the ability of their children to play, learn, and grow. Schools should be a place where children can count on healthy, reliable access to meals, so that they can focus on what really matters — being kids.”
Vicky Klukkert, staff writer, can be reached at vklukkert@thedailystar.com or 607-441-7221.
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