Georgia tattoo shop pays off school lunch debt

ST. MARYS, GA. — A tattoo shop in Camden County, Georgia, wants to make sure all kids get a hot lunch at school, even if they can’t afford it.

Charles Platt is a tattoo artist at Second Skin Tattoo.

He may look like a tough guy with his beard, long hair and arms covered with colorful tattoos, but he has a soft spot for his customers.

"We're kind of sweethearts," Platt said, laughing. "We all like to give back and, yeah, we like what we do. We all look rough or whatever, but we're all just people, too."

Platt explained that the tattoo shop's business comes from the community, so the workers try to give back when they can.

Platt's fiancee and mother are both teachers, and after having some conversations with them, he realized there was a small gap in the school lunch program.

“There’s a sliver of overdue lunch accounts,” Platt said. “This is a great place to kind of get our foot in the door and start giving back.”

The school district provides free or reduced-price lunch for students whose families meet federal guidelines for funding, which is about 49% of the district, but some students don’t qualify and still need a lunch.

"Even with our best efforts, children come to school -- it might've been an oversight, mom didn't write the check or someone forgot their lunch at home -- but there's always going to be a small number of students who come through every day with no lunch or no lunch money," said Michele Wright, director of school nutrition for Camden County Schools.

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