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My grandma died one year ago today.

In her honor, I would like to talk about something I know she would have been all over.

Recently, there have been a rash of stories in the news about kids in school cafeterias being humiliated and forced to eat only a piece of fruit and a glass of milk after getting their lunches thrown away due to having overdue account balances. Of kids who are on reduced lunches already being denied lunch because their parents haven't paid bills. Of kids who are humiliated with "overdue" stamps on their hands- of kids choosing to go hungry to avoid the shame and questions by their peers.

But there have also been recent stories about everyday people who have stepped up and done their best to help out- including a man in Houston who stepped up and paid $465 into all the overdue student lunch accounts.

I don't have $400. But I do have $5, because I was going to buy myself a Starbucks drink yesterday after work until I remembered that the kid my daughter sits next to on the bus might be leaving the pizza line with nothing but a cold sandwich because her mom works full time and forgot to pay her balance this week. I was doing laundry this morning and found another $5 that I could have spent on fancy shampoo, but I got Suave instead because I remembered that my neighbors might be having a hard time with their bills, and their kid might be avoiding the cafeteria line because he knows his parents can barely pay for electricity, much less his lunch account. And I'm sure if I took a closer look at my shopping bill, around my house, and in my car, I could come up with another $5 or $10. Maybe even more.

On Monday, when I go pick up my daughter, I am going to leave just a little bit earlier and put $15 or $20 into someone's account who needs it. It's not a lot of money, it might not make a difference- but it's what I have. And if we all step up and give just a little bit of what we have, we can ensure that the kids in our communities get at LEAST one meal a day at school that is hot and fresh. We don't know their stories- maybe their parents didn't know their accounts were overdue, maybe they forgot to bring the note home, or maybe their parents can't afford to pay it.

So here's a shoutout to grandma, who spent over 10 years of her life as an elementary school cafeteria cook and encouragement to all who can to be some kids' "lunch angel" this week, or next week, or the week after that.

What a wonderful way of remembering your grandmother. So sorry for your loss but her legacy is a beautiful one.

$20 may not seem like much to you, but in my state, that would buy a student on reduced lunch 50 meals. That's almost enough money to cover their lunch for the rest of this school year. I applaud you for making that kind of difference for a child. Your grandmother would no doubt be very proud.

Awesome idea!

Beyondbreaking, what a kind and thoughtful person you are. I'm sure your grandma is smiling down on you.

I love this post!

Beyondbreaking, thanks for being you.

Such a lovely idea, brought a tear to my eye. What an amazing and thoughtful person you are

That is a beautiful. What a wonderful thing to do to honor your dear grandmother.

No child should go hungry, especially at school. Lasy year my DD had a friend who joined in the middle of the year. DD came home and told me her friend "forgot her lunch". So DD shared with her.

It turns out she "forgot" her lunch every day that year. I used to send extra food in DD's lunch for this little girl and another mother put extra money in her own DD's lunch account so she could buy two lunches, one for herself and one for the girl who never had any.

I wonder what happened to that poor girl. She moved to Florida at the end of the year. She probably fell through the cracks again. Breaks my heart.