NOBLE COUNTY, Ind. (WANE)- Central Noble Community Schools have a community rallying around to help the families who struggle to pay off student lunch debt. Around a month ago, Central Noble Schools had just over $3,000 in student debt.

Mary Jessup, the Food Service Director for CNCS, was invited to a rotary club meeting in Albion to speak about her meal program at the school. Through that invitation, it snowballed into the Albion Chamber of Commerce and members got the message out to the community through social media and emails to help ease this debt.

“Through that, we started to getting donations in to take care of the deficit of some of our students accounts,” said Jessup. “It’s been overly surprising to see that there is so much love in the community.”

During the pandemic, school lunches and breakfast were provided to all students for free but that ended this school year, leaving so many families struggling to come up with the funds.

High school students lunches cost $2.90 and Primary & Elementary is $2.60, having kids and their families paying on average $13 to $14 a week for lunches.

The school board policy states that is if a student falls behind more than $10 in the school lunch or breakfast money, they aren’t supposed to get a regular school lunch. With the generous donations from the community, students no longer have to worry.

“The world has changed a lot and through these generous people and this great loving community they are spreading the love and helping these kids,” Jessup said.

If you wish to donate to help ease the student lunch debt, make payments available to Central Noble Schools to the address of 200 E. Main St., Albion.