Belleville attorney pays off overdue lunch bills for Millstadt and Freeburg students
As a boy, Brent Gaines noticed that some children at his school had more money than others. As an attorney, he meets families every day that are struggling financially.
Gaines, 40, was moved a few weeks ago to contact school districts in his hometown of Millstadt and current home of Freeburg and pay the cafeteria bills of all students who had fallen behind. It came to nearly $2,500.
“The haves and have nots are a little more obvious in (small towns) than they are in some areas,” he said. “I just wanted to do something so the kids didn’t have to worry about it or be embarrassed.”
Gaines handles Social Security disability claims in his private Belleville practice. He also works part time prosecuting truancy cases for the St. Clair County state’s attorney’s office.
Brad Landgraf, superintendent for Millstadt School District 160, said people periodically donate money to help with student needs, but this was the first time someone had wiped out all lunch debt.
“That’s a very generous commitment to schools in the community, and there’s no doubt the families appreciate the gesture,” Landgraf said.
Gaines got the idea for his charitable gift in mid-October from a news report about a real-estate agent in Jupiter, Florida, who paid nearly $1,000 in cafeteria bills for local students.
The man, Andrew Levy, told a CNN affiliate that it was “crazy” that children had go hungry or think about whether they would have enough food.
“I’m going to do either a GoFundMe page or a fundraising page that can raise money every quarter, so lunch debt never accumulates so that children never have to worry about a hot meal and parents never have to worry about paying the bill,” he said.
Millstadt has about 750 students at its primary and intermediate schools. Some 12 percent qualify for free or reduced lunches. The rest pay $2.40 per meal. The program is subsidized by the state of Illinois.
Parents prepay for lunches, and students are issued debit-like cards that get swiped at cash registers.
“If they’re at zero, students still get to eat lunch,” Landgraf said. “Their cards are scanned, but it becomes a negative account balance. Nobody is denied a hot lunch.”
Gaines is a 1997 graduate of Belleville West High School who went on to earn undergraduate and law degrees at St. Louis University. He’s the father of twins about to turn 2 years old.
Overdue cafeteria bills at Millstadt schools ranged from 75 cents to $100 when Gaines stepped in to help.
There are many reasons parents fall behind, Landgraf said. Some don’t earn much money, some are hit with unexpected medical bills or other expenses, and some just get busy and forget.
“I have extra, and I know that there’s a need out there,” Gaines said.
This story was originally published November 18, 2019 at 5:00 AM.
