Newtown Interfaith Council (NIC) built off discussions from its previous meeting and continued discussions around its future endeavors at its June 10 meeting.

Newtown Congregational Church Lead Pastor Matt Crebbin started the conversation Tuesday afternoon by updating NIC members on helping Newtown Public Schools with local students' and families' lunch meal debt, which totals around $20,000.

Crebbin had introduced the topic up at the group's May meeting, when NIC discussed whether the debt could be tackled at a community level or if the interfaith could lead other organizations in paying it off.

Since that conversation, Crebbin said the school district is looking at some other methods to relieve the debt and he is not sure how effectively the NIC could work with them. Crebbin also said he had reached out to Human Services about the issue and said they were interested in potentially doing something about it.

Crebbin added that federal funding for the school lunch program might be reduced in the future, which means there will be high thresholds and, in turn, fewer families will quality for it.

"So now the thinking is, rather than completely going on the debt side ... we might partner with the town or create funding through donations from churches or organizations like the Newtown Lions Club or Newtown Rotary Club," Crebbin said.

This effort, he said, would help families who no longer qualify for the school lunch program or experience general financial issues.

Crebbin said they would work with Human Services because they already have assessment tools and would be able to properly identify the people who would qualify for subsidized lunches.

Reiterating some he said in May, Crebbin said NIC would probably pursue this effort in the fall and have further updates around that time. By then, Crebbin said, the council can decide if their communities of faith are going to engage in some way and draw attention to the topic as an interfaith council.

"All of our traditions say we should make sure people are fed, so we could create some kind of joint effort or endeavor that invites other groups or individuals to join us," Crebbin continued.

Expanding The Circle

His point led into the meeting's other central topic of the meeting: potentially getting other people involved in the NIC.

Crebbin said that, over the summer, they could consider reaching out to a few local faith communities to be involved in the interfaith council.

"We can see if we can get folks in from other communities, some of which haven't been involved recently and some of the ones that haven't ever been connected at all," Crebbin added.

Love Has a Home Here Founder Bill Donaldson built off that point, saying it would be nice to have "some kind of carrot" for new members versus just inviting them to an NIC meeting.

"It'd be better if we had some kind of project, something that we were working on or could bring [potential new members] into," Donaldson continued.

While Crebbin said the carrot could be how they are looking for general ways to better serve the community, he added they could have people such as Superintendent of Schools Anne Uberti or Newtown PD Chief David Kullgren be special speakers at future meetings.

The group brainstormed other ideas, including a potential community gathering event at Sticks and Stones Farm.

"When I got here and I met with the group, it was interesting because we were basically around the same size as we are right now, and we wanted to expand the circle," Crebbin said. "Now we're in a similar position."

After other NIC members said they felt expanding the circle is a good idea, Crebbin said they have to think of a way to energize people to keep attending meetings or be involved in other ways.

To Crebbin, the ultimate goal is to tackle increasing levels of loneliness in society and to bring the community together.

Donaldson said he would think about the possibility of some kind of gathering at Sticks and Stones Farm in the future.

While the group doesn't generally meet in July or August, Crebbin said they would consider potentially meeting in the summer this year.

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Reporter Jenna Visca can be reached at jenna@thebee.com.