Program feeds the hungry
Mom creates plan to help children
“Imagine this little kid — who knows what kind of weight he is carrying inside — he gets to the cafeteria and he gets graham crackers and milk when everybody else gets a hot lunch.” Cerissa Couvillion, founder of the nonprofit Louisiana Lunch Money
LAFAYETTE — Cerrisa Couvillion’s mission is to ensure children without lunch money don’t go back to class hungry.
Rather than complain about a school system’s policy that provides students a snack of graham crackers and milk if they don’t have lunch money, Couvillion decided to help.
“We all have to stop pointing at everyone else,” Couvillion said. “Like the song goes, I looked in the mirror.”
The mother of two created a nonprofit organization called Louisiana Lunch Money.
Between Nov. 14 and Feb. 17, the organization purchased lunches for 2,767 elementary school children.
Couvillion started the program for Lafayette Parish elementary students, but a recent $1,500 donation allowed the program to expand and include middle school students. In total, the organization has donated $4,500 to pay for students’ lunches.
She said her goal is to expand the Lunch Money program to other parishes.
“This isn’t just a Lafayette issue,” she said. “It’s happening all over Louisiana.”
In 2007, the Lafayette Parish school system began its no charge policy for student meals.
At the time, unpaid lunches totaled about $441,000. A revision to the policy was made in November 2010 to comply with state legislation, Act 737, which requires school districts that prohibit students from charging meals to report parents who repeatedly send their children to school without lunch money.
The law requires that those students be fed at least a nutritious snack or sandwich.
In Lafayette Parish, the district opted to serve graham crackers and milk as a “snack meal.”
So far, no Lafayette Parish school system parent has been reported for repeated nonpayment, said Renee Sherville, supervisor of child nutrition services for Lafayette Parish Schools.
When Louisiana Lunch Money buys a student’s lunch, a letter goes home to the parent, notifying them that someone sponsored their child’s lunch and explains the ramifications for repeatedly not paying for their child’s lunch.
The school district also receives donations from a few private donors, Sherville said. The donations help students who otherwise would have a snack for lunch, but Sherville said she’s concerned it makes some parents less apt to deposit money into their child’s account.
The donations also benefit students in the reduced lunch program, Sherville said.
Children from low-income families may qualify for either free meals or reduced prices at school.
Sherville said the district plans to revisit its current meal payment policy.
“We’ll put a committee together and see what we can do within the school system to help our students without lunch money,” she said.
Sherville said since the last policy revision, parents receive weekly updates on their child’s lunch account balance. The school district also has an online lunch account system: https://www.schoolpaymentsolutions.com where parents can make online payments or view their child’s balance.
A visit to her daughter’s school during lunchtime sparked Couvillion into action.
“I saw another student eating graham crackers and milk,” the mother of two said. She tossed a small pack of graham crackers onto the desk of her home office.
“That’s it,” she said.
She said some schools had their own systems in place to help children, such as a can with change donated by teachers and cafeteria workers.
“If a child goes through the line without money, they’d take it out of the can,” she said. “Some children would get help. Some wouldn’t. Who’s lucky day was it today?”
Fundraisers and private donors have helped support the nonprofit’s mission.
The group made its first deposit of $1,500 to the school system in November and since then, two more $1,500 deposits have been made.
“Imagine this little kid — who knows what kind of weight he is carrying inside — he gets to the cafeteria and he gets graham crackers and milk when everybody else gets a hot lunch,” she said.
She questioned the fairness of the policy on the child.
“It’s not their fault,” she said.
Couvillion is planning a May fundraiser and is seeking sponsors.
The nonprofit organization has turned into a full-time job for Couvillion with her family, friends and sometimes strangers pitching in to help pull off fundraiser events.
She said she had no interest in starting a nonprofit, but couldn’t turn away from the need she saw in the community.
“I argued with God for a whole year: ‘Me? Really? You want me to do that?’ ” she said of her decision to start Louisiana Lunch Money. “I didn’t do it alone. It was so heavy on my heart.”
For more information about Louisiana Lunch Money, visit: http://www.louisianalunchmoney.com or call Cerrisa Couvillion at (337) 258-5259.