In the minds of some high school students and soon-to-be adults is the amount of money they spend on a daily basis on just food, specifically lunch, during school days. Some students spend an absurd amount of money while others do not spend money at all and decide to bring their own lunch. 

To ensure that high schoolers are fed at zero cost, St. Peters Lutheran School and Church have an offer every Thursday for any student to come and enjoy free grilled cheese while only having to pay with their presence.

A member of that community that looks to give back, freshman Eli Gilbert is big on Grilled Cheese Thursdays as a way for St. Peters to connect with the community.

“St. Peters just wanted to have an outreach program, so they came up with grilled cheese,” Gilbert said. “So far, it has been successful as student and community involvement has been pretty high.”

Gilbert is also a part of the group that helps promote Grilled Cheese Thursday as a great opportunity for students through the use of social media and video making.

“We’re marketing it as a free meal that anybody can come get,” Gilbert said. “We’ve been making videos to hype up the events to attract more students.” 

Not only is student attendance high, but St. Peters has been able to find volunteers who are all after the same goal: feeding high school students and connecting with them. Without these volunteers and the organizers, Grilled Cheese Thursday would not be able to function properly.

Nevertheless, Grilled Cheese Thursday is the perfect opportunity to make connections with the volunteers and other students while getting free food.