Yogurt maker Chobani has come to the aid of low-income students in Rhode Island, pledging to pay off their school lunch debt and donating free yogurt as well.

Last week a school district in Warwick, Rhode Island made headlines when it announced that unpaid school lunch debt would result in students being served cold sandwiches in place of hot lunches. To deal with the $77,000 worth of debt, students who owe money would be served sunflower seed butter and jelly sandwiches until their debt is paid off.

Chobani, the company famous for its Greek yogurt and humble beginnings, has donated $47,650 in order to help pay off that student debt. It is also donating yogurt to the community in Warwick.

“As a parent, this news breaks my heart,” Chobani founder and CEO Hamdi Ulukaya said in a statement. “For every child, access to naturally nutritious and delicious food should be a right, not a privilege. When our children are strong, our families are stronger. And when our families are strong, our communities are stronger. Business can and must do its part to solve the hunger crisis in America and do its part in the communities they call home.”

—Shahrzad Warkentin

Featured photo: iStock

 

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