A new Utah specialty license plate sends $30 from each annual vehicle registration renewal to pay off student lunch debt statewide.
The Utah Lunch Debt Relief Foundation launched the blue-and-white "Feed Utah Kids" plate, as first reported by FOX 13 News Utah. The plate went on sale at the Utah DMV on Oct. 6. The foundation is promoting it during National School Lunch Week, which runs through Friday.
The program arrives as Canyons School District families face higher cafeteria costs. The CSD Board of Education approved its first meal price increase since the 2022-2023 school year at its June 16 meeting, raising elementary lunches to $2.50 and secondary lunches to $4. Business Administrator Leon Wilcox cited a 16% jump in the consumer price index for food.
Five Title I schools, including Sandy Elementary, continue to serve free breakfast and lunch. Board member Jackson Lewis issued a statement at that meeting encouraging the Canyons community to contact legislators in support of a state-funded universal school meals program.
Statewide, unpaid school lunch debt hit $3.8 million last year, according to the foundation. As of March 2026, 695 Utah schools carried a combined $3.4 million in outstanding balances, with Salt Lake County high schools owing tens of thousands of dollars, ABC4 reported.
DJ Bracken, the foundation's founder and executive director, said most of that debt belongs to working families who earn just above the threshold for free meals.
"These are kids down the street. These are kids that your kid goes to school with," Bracken told FOX 13. "People want to know how to help, and this is a very easy way to help."
A new plate costs $53.75. Of that, $30 goes to the foundation and $23.75 covers DMV fees, shipping and registration. Each annual renewal adds another $30.
The foundation, a 501(c)(3) nonprofit created in 2024, says it has paid off lunch debt at more than 80 Utah schools and raised more than $300,000. Bracken estimates 5,000 plates on the road would generate about $150,000 a year. More than 500 drivers signed up before the plate went on sale.
The plate is available for cars, trucks and trailers and can be personalized with up to six letters and numbers. Drivers can order online at utldr.org/plate, at any DMV office or by mail. Plates arrive within two to four weeks.
