BUFORD, Ga. — A local company's good deed is making lunchtime at little easier for dozens of Georgia school students.
On Wednesday, Perimeter Roofing paid off the October lunch balances for kids at not one, not two, but three Buford City Schools. It totaled up to more than $1,800 to clear the debt for students at Buford Elementary, Buford Academy and the Buford Senior Academy.
Principal for Buford Elementary, Mark Graves, told 11Alive that he was thrilled when he heard the news about the donation offer.
"I was so excited," he said. "I just start thinking about some of those families that do hurt each month just to pay their bills and what that means for them – that they’re not going to have to pay that check."
Graves said their goal is to offer every student the chance to get a healthy, balanced meal every day, but when families aren't able to pay back their debt, students are given a reduced lunch.
According to a 2018 report from the School Nutrition Association, 75 percent of US school districts have unpaid student meal debt. That can make things tough at school and home for families struggling to make ends meet, something that the regional manager for Perimeter Roofing Alton Grose, who graduated from the school system in 2012, understands on a personal level.
“I think it’s a little bit of an embarrassing feeling for some of those kids. I was one of those kids growing up," he explained. "So, I know exactly how it felt in some situations."
With the relief, Graves said the balance for all of those families resets to zero for the month of November - meaning one less thing they'll have to think about.
"Now, those families won't have to worry about that and it takes some of that stress off of them so they can concentrate on taking care of their family at home," he said.
Grose said this is Perimeter Roofing's 65th donation of its kind - something that the company's hopes to continue doing until they've helped pay off all children's lunch balances throughout the state.
"It means a lot to us because a lot of our owners and managers have kids - and it means so much and they would hate to see, obviously, their kids in that situation. Some of them have been in those situation," Grose explained. "It's truly a great feeling and it means a lot to us because of how much of an impact this school has had on this state and we hope to have that same impact on them."
For Graves, the gesture is simply a blessing.
"For them to reach out to us ... that just shows the character of their company, wanting to help out in the community."
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