NASHVILLE, Tenn. – After a 2018 federal funding cut, Metro Nashville Public Schools can no longer allow for free student lunches at every school.

Twenty-nine schools within the district have the option for free and reduced lunches, but parents have to apply based on income. But since the funding cut, now 26 schools have racked up more than $67,000 in overages on student accounts.

“We’re not going to throw out someone’s lunch. We’re not going to make them skip a lunch. We’re not going to give them an alternative meal. We’re going to give them the meal that they want,” Spokesperson Sean Braisted said.

Student lunches can range anywhere from $2.75 to $3. But after a robocall went out to parents over the holiday break alerting them of their child’s account debts, School Board Chair Anna Shepherd called it “offensive.”

“We are shaming our students and our families because their students dare to eat a hot meal at school,” Shepherd said during a board meeting on January 14.

Shepherd said in order to stop “lunch shaming,” she would like for the community to cover the tab. She suggests if the community can pick up the tab, those thousands of dollars could stay inside the classroom for other needs.

Braisted said any overages that remain unpaid at the end of the school year are covered by a discretionary fund. But that would require moving money around, as hundreds to thousands have already been acquired at some schools.

According to the MNPS website, as of January 15, Oliver Middle School has debts of $10,023, followed by Hillsboro High School at $9,565 and Bellevue Middle at $5,456.

Shepherd said during the January 14 board meeting that community members willing to help could pay to individual students or schools with outstanding overages.