When the federal government ended a COVID-era program to provide free meals to every student in 2022, school meal debt in Kansas skyrocketed beyond pre-pandemic levels.
In the Valley Center school district, sixth grader Lizzy Chobad is organizing an effort to pay off other students’ meal debt — with a goal to end meal debt there entirely.
It was an experience during the season of giving that led 12-year-old Lizzy to question why people don’t give more during the rest of the year…