In about two years, Virginia Beach City Public Schools has accumulated more than $350,000 in student meal debt.
It’s partnering with nonprofit All for Lunch for community members to make a donation to pay off the debt. VBCPS students pay $1.70 for breakfast and $3.15 for lunch.
Ensuring students are fed is important, said VBCPS Director of Food Services Rachel Amato.
“You know how it is when you get hangry,” she said. “In general, if students are fed breakfast and lunch in school, they're more likely to engage with teachers and retain more information.”
About half of the division’s nearly 64,000 students take advantage of a meal at school. VBCPS offers breakfast and lunch, and supper is available at some schools.
Students can fall into debt if they lose their eligibility for free and reduced lunch or are on the cusp of meeting the low-income requirements to qualify.
VBCPS does not deny meals to students, even if they have a meal debt, Amato said.
Student meal debt isn’t a unique problem. Across the U.S. last fall, schools reported nearly $25.3 million in debt, according to the School Nutrition Association.
That number could get worse with changes and cuts to the Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program, or SNAP. About120,000 Virginians have lost SNAP benefits in the last year.
Households that participate in SNAP automatically qualify for free school meals. As households lose SNAP eligibility, their students could lose access to free school meals, according to the Food Research and Action Center.
School meals help bring stability to families, according to a 2026 survey from No Kid Hungry, a nonprofit dedicated to ending childhood hunger. Those meals can help alleviate a family’s pressure to feed their children.
More than $12,000 has been donated through All for Lunch, which VBCPS is grateful for, Amato said.
“It’s all about wanting to have a really strong community and to take care of the future generation,” she said. “It really does go to show that we’re a part of this community, whether you have students or not in the school system.”
To make a tax-deductible donation, visit www.AllForLunch.org/vbcps.
Virginia Beach City Public Schools is a member of the Hampton Roads Educational Telecommunications Association, which holds WHRO’s license.
