Napa Boy Who Paid Classmates' Lunch Debt Visits RI State House

PROVIDENCE, RI — A 10-year-old boy from Napa who paid off his classmates' school lunch debt visited the Rhode Island State House on Friday. Representative Marcia Ranglin-Vassell hoped his story will help raise awareness about lunch shaming and lunch debt in Rhode Island.

"No child should be shamed or denied food at school because they don't have the money to pay for it – for any reason," she said. "Kids can't concentrate on learning when they are hungry. In a country where there is such wealth, it is outrageous that lunch debt is even a concept."

Ryan Kyote, who lives in Napa and was in Rhode Island to visit family, was welcomed to the State House by Ranglin-Vassell. There, he talked about childhood hunger and lunch shaming before touring the building with his family. Later that afternoon, he met with Providence Mayor Jorge Elorza at City Hall.

"At 10, Ryan Kyote can understand the importance of lifting this burden from kids, and he made it happen himself for his class. In Providence, we've done the same by providing lunch for everyone this year. I hope Ryan's message will be heard by those in power here in Rhode Island and that we can do the same for kids statewide, so we can put an end to lunch shaming and lunch debt and make sure kids are fed and ready to learn," Ranglin-Vassell concluded.

The Providence Democrat has been an outspoken supporter of providing free meals to public school students in Rhode Island. She plans to once again introduce a bill to require free lunch in public schools during the upcoming legislative session.

Last year, Kyote garnered national attention when he used his saved-up allowance to pay the lunch debts of his fellow third-graders, totaling $74.80. He got the idea after he heard about a 6-year-old student in Indiana who had her lunch taken away because she couldn't afford to pay for it.

When the California legislature passed a law banning lunch-shaming in October, Gov. Gavin Newsom thanked Kyote for speaking up. This week, Kyote was named a Hero of 2019 in "Time" magazine.

This wasn't the first time "lunch-shaming" made headlines in Rhode Island. In May, the Warwick School District was accused of the practice after it refused to provide hot lunch to students with outstanding lunch debt, instead offering students a cold option of a sandwich with a side of fruit or veggies and milk. The district, which later released a statement clarifying the policy, said there was more than $77,000 in unpaid debt throughout the district.