Americans are likely hearing from debt collectors more in recent years than in the past, but a practice that may become even more common: debt collecting for unpaid school lunches, the Huffington Post reports. A lot of school-aged kids are getting free lunches — not because they are backed by the government’s free and reduced-lunch program, but because parents haven’t been paying off lunch bills, forcing a number of districts to foot the cost. Already weighed down by budget cuts across education systems, districts can’t afford to take on yet another addition to climbing costs. As a result, several across the country have resorted to hiring debt collectors, employing constables and switching out regular meals for lesser versions in a push to get parents to pay up. As of last February, New York City schools had absorbed some $42 million in unpaid lunch fees since 2004, according to The New York Times. Chapel Hill-Carrboro City Schools in North Carolina recently appropriated $40,000 to cover unpaid lunch fees, the Daily Tar Heel reports…
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