Lawmakers pass bill to keep schools from suing over student meal debt By Noah Fleischman Capital News Service | February 22, 2021 at 7:38 PM EST - Updated February 22 at 10:21 PM
RICHMOND, Va. - Adelle Settle learned in 2017 that school lunches were being taken out of children’s hands when they couldn’t pay for the meal. Instead, children were given a cheese sandwich or a snack.
Settle was inspired to start Settle the Debt, a nonprofit organization that pays off school meal debt at Prince William County schools. The organization has raised almost $200,000 in almost four years, Settle said.
“It leaves the kid hungry, you’re not giving the child an adequate meal at that point and people see it,” Settle said. “It makes them feel terrible about themselves, so I just wanted to make sure that we were not stigmatizing children in a place where they go to feel safe.”
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Del. Dolores McQuinn (D-Richmond) is sponsoring a bill to study setting up a prescription pilot program in Virginia, something that has the support of 16 state-wide organizations. (Photo: Crixell Matthews/VPM News)
Roughly one in ten Virginians live in food insecurity, often skipping meals or unsure where their next meal will come from. At least that was the case before the COVID-19 pandemic engulfed the nation, driving the state economy into a recession that has disproportionately impacted the poor.
It’s too early to say exactly how many Virginians went hungry during the pandemic, but research from Northwestern University estimates the rate more than doubled, with 22.5% suffering from food insecurity.