Kind 5th Grader Raises Over $7,000 To Clear His Elementary School Of Lunch Debt
Sometimes, compassion comes in small packages.
EZ-Stock Studio / Shutterstock.com With millions of kids across the country struggling with food security at home, oftentimes, children only have access to nutritional meals when they arrive at school. While pandemic-fueled lunch programs provided free access to many marginalized students and districts, recent months have proved difficult for struggling kids.
The Thomas Ultican Elementary School in Blue Springs, Kansas City, is one of many schools that has a lot of students eligible for reduced school lunches, according to AP News’ investigation of their school district, yet many students have still wracked up hundreds of dollars of debt as they struggle to pay for their lunches.
Fifth grader Daken Kramer wanted to do something about this injustice and give back to his community in his last year before middle school — hoping to help his peers pay off the lunch debt they’d accumulated throughout the school year.
This 5th grader started a fundraiser dedicated to paying off his elementary school’s lunch debt but ended up raising over $7,000.
In a video posted to Victoria Kramer’s Facebook and TikTok, Daken’s mom shared her son’s kind vision — a declaration of support for his peers, community, and fundamental elementary school. Cue the tears — not only is Daken passionately confident about supporting his friends, but he’s knowledgeable enough to know that lunch debt is an important and significant issue in his district.
“While I can never repay my school for all of the hard work that has gone into my education and well-being, I would like to do something to show my gratitude,” Daken confidently stated. “From now until May 21st, when I graduate 5th grade, I will be doing my own personal fundraiser called ‘Daken Feeds TUE’.”
“I am challenging friends, family, and local businesses to donate what they can to this cause. It will be a PayPal fundraiser link, or you can donate cash. My mom, Vanessa, will be handling the money part, and we will keep everyone obligated,” he said.
The School Nutrition Association estimates that the average school district lunch debt is somewhere near $5,495, a relatively large increase from averages from the year prior. As families struggle with rising grocery prices, battle financial instability, and seek other resources for putting food on their kids’ tables, sometimes school lunches are the best option.
Of course, this struggle with food insecurity is not a new issue. However, it's increasingly unaddressed and exacerbated in many districts, especially those home to marginalized families and students in low-income communities.
It’s a problem Daken's mom, Vanessa, has experienced herself — “[It’s] kind of stuck with me because I grew up in a food-insecure home,” she admitted. “There were a lot of times that even as a high schooler, I was getting a peanut butter and jelly sandwich.”
Fueled to help their community, the pair's fundraiser started to quickly grow and was even featured on several local and national news outlets.
“This will be an experience that stays with him his whole life. This has sparked something in Daken that makes him want to continue to change the world for the better,” she added in her Facebook post. “He has already asked me what the next step is to help with school lunches. I told him we can definitely start researching this summer if he’s still interested, but for now, let’s just enjoy these last few days of elementary school.”
Using the money to pay both existing lunch debt and future school lunches, the little boy was recognized by his school with an award.
With an original goal of $3,500, Daken’s current fundraiser total has knocked his initial hopes completely out of the park — as he’s raised almost $8,000 in most recent totals. With the help of his local community and, of course, national supporters garnered from news outlets and social posts, he’s been able to successfully pay off his elementary school’s student lunch debt.
In addition, he’s also donated over $4,000 of his fundraiser funds to Blue Springs High School to help pay their student lunch debt, expanding his vision of giving back to far more than just the friends and peers in his classrooms.
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Updates on Daken’s mom’s social posts have kept viewers, contributors, and fans in the loop with his project — including the announcement from Daken’s teacher, Kristi Haley, that the school would be honoring students each year with the new “Daken Kramer Legacy Award.”
Although his initial hopes were to simply give back, Daken admitted the award “made [him] feel special” to a community that’d given him so much for the last few years.
Daken’s kindness, compassion, and heart serve as a reminder that younger generations hold the confidence and ambition to truly change our world one community at a time. If you’re inspired or know of a need in your community, organizations like All For Lunch can help you host or donate to a school lunch debt fundraiser or program.
Zayda Slabbekoorn is a News & Entertainment Writer at YourTango who focuses on health & wellness, social policy, and human interest stories.