Moving Pictures Tattoo Cinema of Warsaw owner Nathan Underneath is raising funds to eliminate Warsaw Community Schools’ collective lunch debt through the first half of the school year. Here, he holds some food tattoo designs done by MPTC tattoo artist Morgan Conn. Fifty percent of the proceeds from any food tattoos done through the end of April will go toward paying off the lunch debt, with the store also taking monetary donations for the debt. InkFreeNews photo by Leah Sander.

By Leah Sander
InkFreeNews

WARSAW — Warsaw tattoo artist Nathan Underneath says he is “drawn to doing things that help kids in general.”

That led to his starting a fundraiser through his shop, Moving Pictures Tattoo Cinema, at 112 E. Center St., to eliminate school lunch debt throughout Warsaw Community Schools for the first half of the school year.

The fundraising goes through the end of April, with people able to give in several ways.

People may donate via a container at MPTC or write checks payable to WCS and leave them at MPTC or send them directly to WCS.

If people give at least $20, they may get one of 100 vouchers for a free meal from Panda Express of Warsaw where Underneath’s son works.

“His manager had … sent out something saying ‘Hey, I want to do stuff for the community, specifically kids, and give away some stuff. Does anybody know of any fundraisers?'” said Underneath.

Another way people may give is by getting a food tattoo at MPTC, either special ones designed by MPTC tattoo artist Morgan Conn or any other ones.

Fifty percent of the proceeds from the tattoos will go toward WCS’ school lunch debt.

Underneath said he’s also encouraged area businesses to give for the cause.

He said he’s always done “things for kids and for families.”

“I grew up teaching Sunday school, vacation Bible school. I was a preschool teacher for awhile,” said Underneath. “Being in the tattoo world now, not everybody is into tattoos, not everybody wants them, and it’s a job that definitely isolates from families and kids.”

“So it’s really a way of trying to be inclusive and being involved with the community, but being inclusive to new groups that can’t participate in my tattoo art,” he added.

After reading about someone else canceling school lunch debt in another state, Underneath decided to inquire about WCS’ lunch debt.

WCS Director of Food Services Stacie Light told him there was $13,000 from the first half of the year from all of the schools combined.

“She had told me that almost 50% of our kids were on (free or reduced lunch), which seemed like a very staggering number for me. I was thinking it was going to be like 5% to 10%,” said Underneath.

Underneath said he planned originally to just pay off the debt of the five families who had the most of it.

Underneath said Light told him the “best way and most fair way is if there is money to be donated, then we can … empower the families to pay off their own debt by saying, ‘You have a $200 balance, can you just pay $10 today? If you pay $10, we’ll match it $10.'”

“It encourages them to pay their own debt, so this isn’t a charity by any means. It’s more of making sure that the problem can be solved. It seems like an achievable goal,” said Underneath.

He also encouraged people to talk with other area schools to work on canceling their debt, noting the problem is widespread.

“It’s an issue all over,” said Underneath.