A fifth grader's fundraiser cleared his school's meal debt. It named an award for him

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A Missouri fifth grader has won praise and had an award named for him after he raised more than $7,000 to erase school meal debt in his district

Missouri fifth grade student Daken Kramer, 11, stands during an award ceremony on May 21, 2024 at Blue Springs High School in Blue Springs, Kansas. Kramer was concerned about children who owed money for meals at his school. So the enterprising fifth-grader decided to do something about it. Daken posted a video challenging friends, family, even strangers and businesses to pay off the meal debt at the school.

Nearly 30% of the 15,000 students in the Blue Springs School District are eligible for free or reduced-price lunches, according to state data. Even at that lower cost, some students at the district's 20 schools can't keep up. Overall, the district has a meal debt of around $235,000. During the COVID-19 pandemic, federal aid provided free school meals nationwide, but that ended in 2022. Daken's mom, Vanessa Kramer, said she learned that the pandemic-era program was the only time some students in the district got breakfast.-insecure home,” Vanessa Kramer said. “There were a lot of times that even as a high schooler, I was getting a peanut butter and jelly sandwich.

 

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Missouri fifth grader raises enough money to pay off his entire school's lunch debtThe school surprised Daken Kramer with a legacy award which they plan to hand out annually to a special fifth grader like him.
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