By John Franchi
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OGDEN, Utah (KSTU) — The work to wipe out student lunch debt in Utah is in full swing in Ogden where a concert will raise money for families in need.
At the Dee Events Center on Saturday night, local rock band “Late Night Savior” will open for “Hinder.”
But this concert is unique in that proceeds will benefit those struggling with school lunch debt.
“Its kind of a crazy idea to me that kids are going into debt because they are trying to eat lunch at school that doesn’t make sense to me,” reflected Brandon Johnson, lead singer of the opening group. “We are going to raise as much money to help relieve that.”
The bands are partnering with the newly formed nonprofit Utah Empowerment Initiative, which seeks to find solutions to homelessness and hunger while encouraging civic engagement.
Tanner Workman, President of the nonprofit, is a 2020 graduate of Roy High School and saw firsthand the struggles caused by student lunch debt.
“I kind of saw how big of a deal school lunch debt is, like on the ground level,” he explained. “If you have negative balances you can’t go on field trips, can stop you from graduating, walking across the stage. And what is really unfortunate is the balances can go to collections.”
After the concert, the nonprofit will distribute the money raised to local schools and families in need.
Earlier this year, FOX 13’s reporting found Utah families are plagued by more than 2.8 million in unpaid lunch bills.
That’s why organizers want to fill seats to enjoy some rock music while supporting a good cause.
“I didn’t understand that it was a problem in the first place, so this is a bigger picture of how many people don’t understand how big of a problem this is,” Johnson explained.
Tickets start at $30 and are available for anyone ages 16-years-old and up.
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