LEXINGTON, Ky. (LEX NEWS) — A Fayette County business owner is submitting his largest grant yet to help erase student lunch debt across the district.
Adam Dahl, owner of Dahlhus Fudge, launched his Feed the Kids campaign after seeing similar efforts on TikTok. What started as a small online idea has grown into a community-wide fundraising effort.
"It was something I saw on TikTok. I saw a couple other users do it, one from Utah, one from North Carolina. So it allowed me to just kind of get that idea," Dahl said.
The campaign has grown significantly since its launch. In its first full school year, the effort raised just over $12,000. This year, that number has surpassed $40,000.
"This will be our second full school year. The first year we were able to donate a little over $12,000 to the lunch debt, and this year we have over $40,000. So a big jump from year one to year two, and we're looking forward to taking care of the whole thing next year," Dahl said.
With the latest grant, Dahl says the funds will be directed toward families carrying the heaviest debt first.
"We pay it towards the bottom line. We start with the largest amounts and kind of go up from there. So that way the families that need the most help can get it from this grant. So from this we should be able to take care of anywhere from 70,000 to 80,000 meals," Dahl said.
Dahl, who has two young daughters attending elementary school in Fayette County, said he couldn't imagine their friends going to bed hungry and felt compelled to act.
"I wanted Lexington to know that we're here for everybody no matter what, and that's going to get all of it taken care of towards the bottom line so nobody has to worry about this," Dahl said.
Fundraising continues year-round through community events, volunteers, social media and fudge sales.
"Get some fudge, get a smile on your face and help raise some money for student lunch debts," Dahl said.
