KANSAS CITY, Mo. — As the school year drew to a close, Daken Kramer worried about children who owed money for meals at his school. So the enterprising fifth grader decided to do something about it.
Nearly 30% of the 15,000 students in the Blue Springs School District are eligible for free or reduced-price lunches, according to state data. Even at that lower cost, some students at the district's 20 schools can't keep up. Overall, the district has a meal debt of around $235,000.of member school districts found that the median district meal debt as of November was $5,495, up from $5,164 a year earlier.
His school agreed. During fifth grade graduation May 21, Daken's teacher, Kristi Haley, announced that an annual award will be named after him — the Daken Kramer Legacy Award — to honor students who go above and beyond.