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WEST VALLEY CITY — What began as a goal to eliminate Utah's school lunch debt has evolved into a foundation, bolstered by support from the state's tech community.
When Hunter High Basketball Coach DJ Bracken discovered the state's staggering $2.8 million in school lunch debt, he was determined to make a difference. He requested a list of schools from the district and got to work.
"(I) went down the spreadsheet they sent me, picked the first school off the list, which was Bluffdale Elementary. I paid $835 of my own money to pay off the lunch debt for that school," he said. "Then I thought, 'If I care about this, maybe other people care about this.'"
Bracken said he knew Silicon Slopes CEO Clint Betts had similar interests, so he sent him a message.
"(I asked), 'Is this something you'd be interested in helping with?' and he reached out and he gave that incredibly generous offer," Bracken said.
Betts offered to direct all of the membership fees from Silicon Slopes to help pay off the debt. Since then, they have already paid off the debt for two schools. Additionally, the foundation plans on paying off the debt for two more schools by the end of summer.
