Seattle Dad Paying Off School Lunch Debt Meets John Legend

SEATTLE, WA - A Seattle parent who is trying to pay off public school students' lunch debt across Puget Sound on Saturday night met one of the biggest donors to his cause: musician John Legend. Legend donated $5,000 to parent Jeff Lew's Go Fund Me Fundraiser seeking to pay off over $21,000 in lunch debt owed by children in the Seattle school district. Lew is continuing to raise money for the cause, and is now trying to pay off the school lunch debt of students in Renton, Spokane, and Tacoma.

Legend swung through the Seattle area on Saturday for a show at the Chateau St. Michelle Winery Amphitheater. That gave Lew and his wife the opportunity to meet the man who helped end school lunch debt in Seattle schools.

Students who can't afford to buy lunch rack up school-lunch debt. In some cases, students with debt will be served sub-par food, won't get food at all, or will be asked to do chores in a school cafeteria to work off the debt.

"It is an awful thing and it should not be happening. Children need to eat regardless if they have money or not," Lew wrote when he launched his first campaign for Seattle in mid-May. Lew, who lives in Beacon Hill, has children who attend Seattle schools and is a graduate of the district.

Lew has set up separate fundraising pages for Renton, Spokane, and Tacoma. He's also continuing to raise money via his original Seattle campaign to pay off future school lunch debts.

Image via Jeff Lew