LIVINGSTON — “Kids can’t learn if they are hungry.” That’s how Livingston mother, Julie Williams, described her reaction after seeing Facebook posts from other parents about a school district policy stating families with more than $100 in unpaid lunch debt could be sent to a collection agency starting Monday, Feb. 23.
“I felt like that was something that if we as a community could step up and help with, then we needed to do that,” Williams said.
Livingston Public Schools Superintendent Chad Johnson said the district’s outstanding lunch debt had reached $30,000 and must be cleared from the books by June 30, 2026.
WATCH: Montana school districts in Livingston, Bozeman, and Belgrade are carrying hundreds of thousands in unpaid lunch debt
“Of course, it hit us that $30,000 has to be off the books by June 30th, 2026,” Johnson said during a Zoom interview.
The total has since been reduced to $15,000 with support from First Interstate Bank, the Free Masons, and Farm to Schools.
Johnson said the district is working with families to avoid sending accounts to collections.
“Just contact us. We will work on payment plans. We will support you in filling out the free and reduced information,” he said.
Lunch debt policies vary across Montana.
In the Bozeman School District, current unpaid lunch balances total $70,000. While district policy allows accounts to be sent to collections, officials said none are currently being referred.
In Belgrade, lunch debt exceeds $116,000. District policy states principals will call families once debt reaches $30, followed by letters. If a balance exceeds $100 and no contact is made, accounts may be sent to collections.
Williams said some families may not realize how charges accumulate under federal meal guidelines. If a student receiving free or reduced-price lunch does not select the required meal components — including a fruit or vegetable — the meal is not reimbursable, and the district may charge the student.
“People probably were accumulating debt without knowing it, because if you are on free and reduced and your kid doesn’t always choose the right things, that's a charge being accumulated,” Williams said.
According to Feeding America, 1 in 6 children in Montana face hunger. Data from the Kids Count Data Center shows that in the 2024–2025 school year, more than half of Montana households were eligible for free or reduced-price lunch.
As word spread about Livingston’s lunch debt, donations increased. Johnson said the district is now about $200 short of eliminating the remaining balances and expects the debt could reach zero within days.
Williams said the focus should remain on students.
“We as a community need to figure out a way to get them food to eat and not have that have negative repercussions on their family,” she said.
