An Ohio elementary school ruined 'Ice Cream Friday' when it announced kids with school lunch debt wouldn't get any

• An Ohio elementary school decided to hold its first-ever "Ice Cream Friday" last week.
• But there was one rule: No ice cream for students with outstanding school lunch debt.

At an Ohio elementary school last week, Ice Cream Friday got real.

In a message to students and parents posted to Facebook, Donovan Elementary School administrators outlined a few rules ahead of the highly-anticipated event, apparently the first of its kind at the school.

The rules solely targeted kids who have outstanding school lunch debt.

"If a student has a negative balance they will not be able to purchase an ice cream even if they bring their $1 for ice cream. Students are only allowed to purchase 1 ice cream and are not permitted to buy an ice cream for a friend," the school, which serves third and fourth graders in Lebanon, wrote.

It closed with: "We hope to have a great first ice cream Friday."

Over the course of the next two days, that post generated some 16,000 comments, which would be impressive engagement numbers if they weren't almost all negative. The outrage prompted an apology from the school but, notably, not a change in policy.

Students with school lunch debt still cannot buy ice cream on Ice Cream Friday, even if a friend wants to buy it for them. Thems the rules.

America has a school lunch debt problem

The US already has one of the most dystopian yet classically American school lunch systems around.

In a rare moment of mercy spurred by the coronavirus pandemic, US government officials waived the cost of school lunch for every K-12 student in 2020. The policy had a clear impact: Food insecurity in low-income households fell by about seven percentage points from 2020 to 2021, data from the US Census showed.

But, like so many acts of mercy and basic human decency, that too came to an end.

Congressional Republicans, led by Senate Minority Leader Mitch McConnell, decided to end their support for the program in mid-2022, Insider previously reported. Now, amid crushing inflation, it's back to shame, embarrassment, and growling tummies for the kids who can't afford school lunch.

Nine states have since managed to bring back free school lunch. California, Colorado, Maine, Michigan, Minnesota, New Mexico, and Vermont did so permanently. So did Massachusetts, which is using a newly passed 4% millionaire's tax to fund the program. Nevada temporarily funded free school lunch for the 2023-2024 school year.

Ohio, however, has not.

Local businesswoman steps up to pay off student lunch debt

The elementary school's Facebook post garnered so much attention it was seen by a businesswoman in neighboring Middletown, who found herself inspired to rally to support the children on their special ice cream day.

Naiyozcsia Thompson, who owns a restaurant called Mz. Jade's SoulFood, paid $411.15 toward the balance of school lunch debt at Donovan Elementary School, she wrote on Facebook.

"I was a parent with kids with balances before," Thompson wrote, thanking commenters for their support. "I couldn't do nothing about it, so now that I could, I did."

In its apology, the school said its original post "lacked empathy."

"The wording lacked empathy and sensitivity for students who have low or negative meal account balances," the edited post reads, adding that the policy on purchasing "à la carte items" isn't new. Ice cream, it said, was an à la carte item and therefor not available to kids with an outstanding balance on their school lunch bill.

A school official did not immediately respond to a request for comment from Insider.