Because we need to know about angels

A man is being called the “Lunch Angel” this week after covering over 60 overdue lunch bills for students at Valley Oaks Elementary School in Texas. In choosing to pay off the students’ overdue accounts, Kenny Thompson was able to provide the students with a way to eat a healthy, hot lunch. He serves as a tutor and mentor for a number of students at the Houston school, and says it was a blessing to have helped out so many kids.

Thompson thinks covering roughly 60 overdue lunch accounts for students was well-spent money. Some students were only eating cheese sandwiches, while others were simply skipping lunch. Thompson added that he was glad to have made even a small difference by giving students the right to enjoy a hot, healthy meal in the middle of the school day.

"It was the best money I ever spent ... It was the best gift I ever gave myself. I went into my car and screamed."

The school tutor said he realized what he had to do for these in-need students after hearing news of the Utah school that was actually taking away children’s lunches and throwing them in the trash because their parents were unable to pay for the school lunch. Thompson knew there was something very wrong with this, and decided it was time to intervene.

He was startled to learned at his own school some children were eating cheese sandwiches, or peanut butter and jelly sandwiches instead of the full lunch provided by the cafeteria. Others, due to embarrassment, didn't eat anything at all. Making matters worse was the fact that many of the children were already on a reduced lunch payment planning, meaning that they only had to pay 40 cents per day.

After paying for the 60 students’ overdue lunch bills, he made a public statement saying that this was unfair for the elementary level students.

"It was horrifying, it broke my heart," Thompson said. "These are elementary kids. They're not bankers and not responsible for the financial issues in the household. We don't know what they have for breakfast. That's the only meal we can control," he said of the lunches.

In the end, Thompson paid a total of $465 to cover all of the students’ lunches this week so that they may go back to enjoying a hot, healthy meal in the school cafeteria.

"When I left the building knowing that they were getting fed, they didn't have that stress," he added. “It was the best money I ever spent."