Utah Plate Targets $3.8 Million School Lunch Debt

Utah’s blue “Feed Utah Kids” specialty license plate went on sale Oct. 6, directing $30 from its initial purchase and each annual renewal to the Utah Lunch Debt Relief Foundation to pay outstanding school meal balances. The plate costs $53.75, with the remainder covering DMV and registration-related fees. The foundation says Utah schools carried about $3.8 million in lunch debt last year, much of it owed by working families earning just above the threshold for federal free meals. It estimates that 75 plates could clear the average school’s debt and 500 could raise enough to pay off debt at about seven schools each year. More than 500 residents had signed up before the launch, and the foundation says it has already cleared balances at more than 80 schools.