CORPUS CHRISTI, Texas — What started as one man’s leftover campaign money is growing into a community effort to help Flour Bluff kids with their school lunch balances.
After paying off his at-large city council campaign, Joshua Fraedrick had $452.12 left. He’s giving $350 of it to Flour Bluff ISD to cover unpaid student meal balances.
“I wasn’t necessarily a hungry kid, but I know what it was to be a little bit hungry and how distracting that can be,” Fraedrick said. “So this just seemed like a layup.”
Fraedrick said he also reached out to London and Calallen ISD, but Flour Bluff was the first to send back numbers. As of Nov. 2, the district says 673 students owed a combined $8,606.76 for school meals. First and second graders alone owed $706.75, and Fraedrick says that’s where his donation is going.
Why meals aren’t free everywhere
Every student in Corpus Christi ISD eats free because the district qualifies for the Community Eligibility Provision, a federal program built for high-poverty areas that covers breakfast and lunch districtwide. In Flour Bluff, only the Early Childhood Center qualifies. Families at other campuses can apply for free or reduced-price meals at any time during the school year. Calallen ISD also charges for lunch, though it offers free breakfast to all students.
Under federal rules, unpaid meal debt can’t be absorbed by a district’s lunch program. It has to be covered with other money, such as local funds or donations.
“Any kid out there deserves a meal,” Fraedrick said. “I don’t care what part of the city you’re in, hungry kids should not be a thing that we have to deal with.”
A challenge that grew beyond politics
Fraedrick challenged other former candidates to chip in, but neighbors are the ones answering.
Jordan Linley, who owns Jordie’s Goodies, raised $560 through pecan pie sales and matching donations from other businesses.
“It wasn’t just the sales off of the pecan pies, but it was the community coming together and getting involved,” Linley said.
Fraedrick estimates donations are now well over $1,000.
Brittney Martinez, whose children attend Flour Bluff schools, saw Fraedrick’s post and started raising money too.
“It might just seem like it’s just lunch to somebody, but to them that could be everything,” Martinez said.
How to help
Donations are still being accepted.
Families who need help with meal costs can apply for free or reduced-price meals through the Flour Bluff ISD Nutrition Department at (361) 694-9034.
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