Church Pays All Student Lunch Debts In Nutley, 4 Other NJ Schools – Belleville, NJ Patch

NUTLEY, NJ — There’s one thing about Liquid Church’s recent campaign to wipe out student lunch debts at five New Jersey school districts that Jim Gottshall wants people to know when they hear about the inspiring effort: it’s not a marketing ploy.

According to Gottshall, a pastor at the church, his congregation had no plan to publicize their donations, which eliminated lunch debts for about 1,500 families in five public school districts across the state: Nutley, Parsippany, Sayreville, Somerville and Roselle.

But then, during the Oct. 28 meeting of the Nutley Board of Education, a school official gave the church a shout-out, thanking them for their donation, which came to about $4,200 in that district alone.

Gottshall, who represents the church’s Essex County campus, remained humble about the donations when contacted for more information.

“We didn’t – nor will we – pursue any media coverage for this, because we didn’t want people to misinterpret our act of no-strings-attached generosity as anything other than that,” he told Patch.

The fund drive took place during sermon on Oct. 13, when congregants were encouraged to give a tithe of 10 percent of their income. The campaign took place at each of the church’s seven campuses in Essex, Morris, Middlesex, Somerset, Union and Monmouth counties.

In the Nutley Public School District, students in a variety of situations are eligible for free or reduced-price meals, including children in households receiving NJ SNAP benefits, foster children under the legal care of an agency or court, children participating in a school Head Start program and children who “meet the definition of homeless, runaway or migrant.”

But despite the safety nets many New Jersey school districts offer low-income families, some students still find themselves struggling with unpaid lunch debts through no fault of their own. And that’s what inspired the church’s donation drive, Gottshall said.

According to the pastor:

“Simply stated, we believe that the church exists to serve and reach the people outside of our walls, not to act as a members-only country club. We also take the words of Jesus quite literally and seriously, including when he tells us to love the overlooked – especially children. So when we were made aware of the growing epidemic of unpaid student lunch debt and how children whose parents are struggling financially were being stigmatized, we were compelled to take action. Our children already have so many pressures and difficulties living in a TGIF society (i.e. Twitter, Google, Instagram, and Facebook), and we are not okay with them being ostracized even further because of their parents’ financial situations.”

“At Liquid, we believe that 100 percent of our wealth comes from the hands of God,” Gottshall continued. “So giving – to us – is simply an act of worship, because [God] is the one that provided for us in the first place. It’s this spirit and lifestyle of generosity that is core to who we are as a church body, and also who we believe each of us should be as individuals as well.”

But doing a good deed is hardly nonsecular, he points out.

“While we fully acknowledge and respect that not everyone has the same belief system, we do think that everyone is able to rally around a good cause,” Gottshall emphasized. “In other words, just because we might not fully agree on God, that doesn’t mean we can’t all agree on doing good.”

Since making the donations, church leaders have gotten some much-appreciated words of appreciation, Gottshall said.

One superintendent wrote:

“Oh my goodness! Are you sure? This would be an incredible blessing to our district and so many children and their families. First, this will truly be a gift from heaven for the students impacted, many of which we can only serve a basic cold lunch (meeting the Bureau of Child Nutrition standards) in accordance with our BOE policy. Furthermore, since students who owe money cannot participate in major extra-curricular events like proms, and cannot receive their diplomas unless all their student debts and fines are paid, this will serve as a tremendous relief for them and their families. Thank you so very much, and please extend our sincere gratitude and appreciation to your entire congregation! May God bless you all!”

“We’ve also had many parents that were directly impacted by this tell us how incredibly thankful they were, and how much this will positively impact their and their children’s well-being,” Gottshall said.

“We can all find common ground when it comes to serving and protecting our children,” he added. “So while we might all believe that it’s a God thing, we can all agree that it’s a good thing.”

School districts around the nation have been facing backlash for taking punitive action against students who can’t pay their lunch debts.

Earlier this month, the Cherry Hill Board of Education did an about-face on their policy – which previously said students could be denied lunch after accruing more than $20 in debt – after seeing a public outcry and criticism from elected officials such as U.S. Senators Cory Booker, Bernie Sanders and Elizabeth Warren, as well as Gov. Phil Murphy.

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