Closing the gaps: Nonprofit pays off school’s bad debt at lunch

Hungry Horse News

A Flathead Valley nonprofit gave Columbia Falls School District 6 a boost earlier this month, paying off the balance of a $55,000 school lunch debt.

Gap Fillers Flathead’s donation of $9,971.93 wiped out the debt.

Gap Fillers has been helping students and school districts across the valley pay off their school lunch debt, as in some districts the debt can impact their ability to actually receive school report cards.

Principal Cory Dziowgo contacted the organization shortly after he began working in Columbia Falls. The school feeding program has consistently shown deficits for years, until recently.

Now the school participates in a state and federally funded program called the Community Eligibility Provision, which provides every student with free lunch and breakfast while attending school. This program runs until 2028. It is not funded by local tax dollars, Dziowgo notes.

The program benefits low-income communities like Columbia Falls.

The Gap Filler donation enabled the school to pay off its old debts.

In addition, Gap Fillers provides school districts with personal and feminine hygiene products, as well as AED defibrillators and emergency medications for students who may need them, such as EpiPens for students allergic to bee stings.

Schools and other educational organizations can learn more about the nonprofit at: Gapfillersflathead.org