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Yogurt Company Chobani Makes Contribution to Warwick Schools Unpaid Lunch Debt

Friday, May 10, 2019

GoLocalProv News Team

Hamdi Ulukaya PHOTO: Chobani/Wikipedia

Chobani CEO Hamdi Ulukaya and his company announced that they are making a contribution to the unpaid lunch debt of low-income students in Warwick’s school system.

"As a parent, this news breaks my heart. For every child, access to naturally nutritious and delicious food should be a right, not a privilege," said Hamdi Ulukaya, Founder and CEO of Chobani. "When our children are strong, our families are stronger. And when our families are strong, our communities are stronger. Business can and must do its part to solve the hunger crisis in America and do its part in the communities they call home," said Hamdi Ulukaya.

Chobani is also pledging to donate cups and bottles of their Greek Yogurt to the community in Warwick.

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Warwick Food Crisis

As GoLocalProv reported, on Thursday, the School Committee voted unanimously to put on hold an existing policy that affected students with an unpaid lunch balance.

The school department tweeted, "We are working on a way to accept donations and equitably distribute them. Our total lunch debts are $77,000, $21K from families who subsequently qualified for free/reduced lunch. ~36% of our students receive free/reduced lunch. Formal statement coming soon."

Many of these students, who participate in the Federal free and reduced lunch program, are given a sandwich instead of a nutritious, hot meal until their debt is paid.

Solomon said in a statement earlier this week, “The decision by the Warwick School Committee to implement this policy is upsetting not only to me, but to many residents of our community. Continuing this policy could impact our children’s social development. It also sends the wrong message to our students regarding what the City of Warwick is actually about – ensuring that our students are in a positive environment where they can focus on learning, develop strong relationships, and not be distracted by other issues. I am very concerned about the negative effect this policy is having on our City, but more importantly, about the impact this could have on students throughout their life."

Chobani notes that children and adults in 2.9 million U.S. households were food insecure in 2017, according to data from the U.S. Department of Agriculture.

The median school lunch debt climbed from $2,000 to $2,500 per school district between 2016 and 2018, according to a survey conducted by the School Nutrition Association.

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