犹他州「Feed Utah Kids」车牌10月开售：每年30美元冲抵学生午餐欠款
犹他州车主如今在车辆年检续费时可以选购一款名为「Feed Utah Kids」的特殊车牌，每年30美元的注册费将直接用于偿还全州公立学校学生的午餐欠款。据 The City Journals 10月21日报道，该车牌已于10月在州车管局开售，恰逢全国学校午餐周。
推动此事的犹他午餐债务救济基金会（Utah Lunch Debt Relief Foundation）创始人 DJ Bracken 2024年创立基金会时，全州公立学校累计午餐欠款已近300万美元，2025年升至360万美元，2026年预计突破400万美元。基金会联合企业与社区伙伴逐校逐学区偿还欠款，但一直难以跟上需求增长。Bracken 为这款车牌的设计与审批奔走一年多。
车牌售价53.75美元，其中30美元归入午餐债务基金，其余23.75美元支付车管局的车牌、邮寄与注册费用；购得车牌后每年自动续费，每年30美元持续注入基金，车主也可通过基金会网站链接至车管局订购表下单。车牌销售所得将全部用于偿还学生午餐余额，该基金会自2024年以来已为80多所学校偿清午餐欠款。
Bracken 说：「多数午餐欠款属于那些收入刚好超过免费午餐线的工薪家庭。这些孩子就坐在你孩子旁边上课、和你孩子同队踢球。这块车牌是帮他们一把的方式。」
Utah 'Feed Utah Kids' License Plate On Sale in October: $30 a Year Goes to Student Lunch Debt
Utah drivers can now choose a special "Feed Utah Kids" license plate when renewing their vehicle registration, with $30 a year going directly to pay down public school students' lunch debt statewide. According to The City Journals on October 21, the plate went on sale at the Utah DMV in October, coinciding with National School Lunch Week.
DJ Bracken, founder of the Utah Lunch Debt Relief Foundation, started the foundation in 2024, when Utah public schools had accumulated nearly $3 million in unpaid lunch debt. That figure grew to $3.6 million in 2025 and is expected to exceed $4 million in 2026. The foundation partners with businesses and community partners to pay off debts one school or district at a time, but has struggled to keep up with demand. Bracken worked for more than a year to get the plate designed and approved.
The plate costs $53.75, of which $30 goes to lunch debt relief and the remaining $23.75 covers the DMV's plate, shipping and registration fees. Once purchased, the plate renews automatically each year, sending another $30 to the fund, and drivers can also order through the foundation's website, which links to the DMV order form. All proceeds go to paying off student lunch balances; the foundation has cleared lunch debt for more than 80 Utah schools since 2024.
"Most lunch debt belongs to working families who earn just over the line for free lunch," Bracken said. "Their kids sit next to yours in class and play on your kids' teams. This plate is a way to help them."
来源：GSM·美国（原文链接）
图片来源：犹他州议会大厦（Salt Lake City），Mangoman88 摄，CC0，Wikimedia Commons / Utah State Capitol in Salt Lake City, by Mangoman88, CC0, Wikimedia Commons
