A Texas high school student is making a big impact in her community one candle at a time. Ruby Chalupka, a junior at McCallum High School in Austin, remembers watching a young classmate be denied a hot lunch back in seventh grade because he didn’t have enough money in his account. The moment stayed with her and eventually inspired her to take action.
Ruby launched Lunchline Candles, a small business where she makes dessert-themed candles in her North Austin kitchen. Each candle sold funds a free school lunch for a student in need. Recently, Ruby returned to her former campus, Lamar Middle School, and presented a check for $254, which was enough to pay off the school’s outstanding lunch debt in full.
Her donation comes at a time when school lunch debt is a major issue in Texas. According to the Education Data Initiative, the state’s public schools collectively carry more than $930 million in unpaid meal balances, the highest in the country. Austin ISD alone serves about 600 courtesy meals per day, costing the district around $350,000 annually. When students run out of meal credits, they can only charge a few meals before receiving alternate, less substantial lunches.
Ruby’s gesture deeply moved campus staff. Her Digital Arts teacher, Alissa Godina, said the act nearly brought cafeteria workers to tears and inspired adults to reflect on how they might also make meaningful change. Ruby plans to continue donating 100% of her profits throughout November and has already raised an additional $800 to help pay down meal debts at other Austin ISD campuses.
Austin ISD is also working to raise funds to support student meal accounts, as federal regulations prohibit the district’s food service department from directly covering lunch debts. While over 70 AISD campuses qualify automatically for free meals under federal guidelines, nearly 40 schools still require families to apply for free or reduced-price lunch benefits.
Source: KTLA / KXAN
Author: Kelly Wiley
Original story: https://ktla.com/news/nationworld/texas-teen-uses-candle-business-to-pay-off-schools-lunch-debt/