Lunchline Candles
Experience the scents of your lunchtime favorites & help end lunch debt!
Every candle purchased pays for one school lunch!
SMELL GOOD. DO GOOD.
Our impact
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$3.65 from every candle = one school lunch paid for.
For many kids, school lunch is their most dependable meal, but lunch debt can stand in the way.
That’s why every candle gives back $3.65, the cost of a school lunch, to help erase student lunch debt. Small flames, big impact.
Where Your Candle Makes a Difference
Lamar Middle School
McCallum High School
McCallum High School
$257.10 donated — covering 70 school lunches at Lamar Middle School.
Handing over this check was a reminder that every donation counts and can make a meaningful difference for school lunch programs.
McCallum High School
McCallum High School
McCallum High School
$770.40 donated — covering 211 school lunches at McCallum High School.
This one hit close to home. As a McCallum student, being able to give back to my own school and help remove lunch debt for classmates is exactly why I started Lunchline Candles.
Your School?
McCallum High School
Your School?
Could your school be next? Every candle sold helps cover the cost of a school lunch. We’re always looking for new campuses to support—because lunch should be one less thing students have to worry about. Please reach out to ruby@lunchlinecandles.com if we can support your campus!
understanding school lunch debit
Did You Know? School Meal Programs Have to Pay for Themselves.
In most school districts, lunches are run through a separate nutrition services fund. That means the program is expected to break even, and it doesn’t automatically get extra money from the school if things get expensive or payments fall short. So when there's a lot of unpaid meals, that means money gets tight and the program feels it right away.
Federal Funding Doesn’t Cover the Real Cost of a Meal.
Schools get a set amount of money from the federal government for each meal. But the real costs are higher:
- Food prices keep going up
- Paying staff costs more
- Equipment and safety rules add up
Even schools doing everything right are often barely breaking even.
When Families Can’t Pay, the Program Takes the Hit.
- If a student eats lunch but can’t pay:
- The school still serves the meal
- The meal program covers the cost
- The unpaid balance becomes school lunch debt
Unless the district steps in (which doesn’t always happen), that debt comes straight out of the meal program’s budget.
How Lunchline Candles Helps.
Lunch debt isn’t about kids or parents doing something wrong—it’s a funding gap schools are stuck managing.
Lunchline Candles helps fill that gap.
Every candle sold donates **$3.65—the cost of one school lunch—**to help schools pay down meal debt and keep their meal programs going.
- Small candles.
- Real meals.
- Real impact.
about us
Mission
Our mission is to create fun candles with scents inspired by lunchtime favorites while helping pay off school lunch debts, ensuring every child has access to a nutritious meal.
Did you know that more than 30 million students in our country can't afford to pay for their school meals? The national school lunch debt is over $262 million per year! With the help of some wax and a jar, we hope to be able to change this.
Scents
Lunchline candles smell like your favorite school lunch items – Pudding Cup, Cinnamon Bun, Oatmeal Cream Pie or even Buttered Corn! Our candles come in a variety of unique lunchtime favorite scents, from fun and fruity to warm and comforting.
Our candles are made from all natural soy wax and use scents that are phthalate and paraben free. Burn them all day long to bring back the nostalgia of lunchtime.
Founder
Lunchline Candles was started by Ruby Chalupka as a way to help solve a problem. She says, "during Covid, the Austin school district made all school lunches free for everyone. It was great and everyone benefitted and it felt more equal in the lunchroom. But, a few years ago, the school district changed their policy and now everyone has to pay again. I’ve seen firsthand kids not be able to get what they want in the lunhcline because they didn’t have money in their lunch account, and I want to do something about it. That's why I started Lunchline candles."