By Sarah Thomack
St. Joseph Post
A group of friends came up with an idea to help others in St. Joseph in honor of their friend who lost her battle with cancer this year.
Tama Wagner says as the group talked about their upcoming Christmas exchange, they decided they wanted to create a lunch fund in memory of Amy.
“She was an enthusiastic cook, she loved to cook, no one ever left her house hungry," Wagner says. "So we decided that it would be a good idea to cover overdue lunches in the school district to help out families that may be having a hard time paying off those lunch accounts and we thought it was just a really fitting way to honor Amy’s memory and do something nice for the community.”
Wagner says when they decided to make a contribution and checked into it, they found out there are thousands of dollars in overdue lunch accounts.
“The St. Joseph School District doesn’t turn anyone away hungry, but your account can go in arrears and the district does require students and their parents to pay off those accounts before they can graduate, before they can go to school dances, before they can do some other things," Wagner says. "So we thought it would be a nice gift for parents who may be struggling this time of year.”
St. Joseph School District Nutrition Services Coordinator Brian Tarr says the memorial fund has received several donations already. Tarr adds a recent donation of $100 was able to help 60 kids in four different schools.
Donations of any amount can be sent to:
The St. Joseph School District
Attn: Brian Tarr, Coordinator, Nutrition Services
RE: Amy's Christmas Lunch Fund
1000 South 9th Street
St. Joseph, MO 64503