RAK and the School Nutrition Program

Today's theme is simply Random Acts of Kindness. For some, that means buying an extra coffee or a bunch of flowers, holding a door, or sharing a hug. For those who are looking for a fresh idea, Kristin Allen, inspired by this article, reached out to Peter Esposito to see if past due lunch balances were an issue in Scarborough. 

Here's what he had to say:

As an outsider, Scarborough seems to be a town with many resources, booming business, and a wide tax base. The schools are high performing, and they have great sports teams, arts, and many extracurricular programs. When I came on board, we already had a program in place where we would send home food for some long weekends and all vacations. I was shocked at the need in the district, but also humbled by the generosity of our citizens. With the help of those citizens and groups, we have expanded our Backpack Program to include more items such as fresh meats, cheeses, produce, and other nutritious options. 

In our School Nutrition Program, and many across the nation, students that qualify for reduced meals or free meals may not always have the .40 cents that it costs for the reduced meal. Our policy is that we would never take a meal away from a child for nonpayment, and we would never single a child out for owing money. We believe that our program is very important to our whole student body because, as we all know, a hungry child cannot learn. But all of this, unfortunately, comes at a cost to our program, with current estimates of over three thousand dollars owed. As a group we will continue to chip away at this, and we will continue to help children and families in any way we can.

Peter Esposito

School Nutrition Director 

Scarborough School Department

So, for those of you who are looking for a RAK today, please join us in helping our neighbors bring some of those accounts back up into the black. This will likely be an ongoing need, so keep an eye out for additional requests. Checks can be made out to Scarborough School Nutrition Program - write "lunch account donation" in the memo field. Checks can be mailed to:

Nutrition Program Office

Wentworth School

PO Box 370

Scarborough, ME 04074