Official Wisconsin K-12 provides all students with a free school lunch

Wisconsin’s top public education official for elementary and middle schools wants to make school breakfasts and lunches free for all students, regardless of their household income.

“Access to food is one of the most basic human needs, and yet many Wisconsin children tell us they don’t know when or if they will eat their next meal,” said Jill Underly, state superintendent of public instruction, in a prepared statement statement.

In national survey from last year, 1 in 4 high school students in Wisconsin reported feeling hungry in the last month because they didn’t have enough food at home. The Department of Public Instruction cited that data Friday in announcing a request for nearly $294 million for universal free school meals, part of a larger 2025-2027 budget request related to nutrition.

The meal proposal would apply to schools participating in the National School Lunch Scheme, which covers public schools, private schools and independent settings.

“When we make sure all our children are properly nourished, we will raise future leaders. “My budget proposal ensures that every child, regardless of their background, has free access to the food they need to succeed,” Underly said.

But DPI’s proposal is just that: it’s a request that requires approval by the Wisconsin Legislature. Gov. Tony Evers tried to propose universal free meals last session, but lawmakers didn’t follow suit.

DPI’s total 2025-2027 budget request for school nutrition is $311 million. It includes other measures such as expanding existing breakfast and dairy programs and encouraging school districts to buy produce from local farmers and producers.

Nationally, the list of states considering universal free school meals is long. These policies have become more common since the Covid-19 pandemic as families became accustomed to free school meals provided through federal aid from March 2020 through June 2022.

If that happens, Wisconsin will join eight other states that have done so Similar long-term actions have already been taken: California, Colorado, Maine, Massachusetts, Michigan, Minnesota and Vermont.

DPI’s full 2025-27 budget proposal is expected to be published in November.

More: State Superintendent Jill Underly: Wisconsin has ‘more than enough money’ to fund public schools

“Good people don’t want children to go hungry”

Speaking in Madison last month, agriculture teacher Rachel Sauvola described what hunger looks like in the New Richmond school district where she works: children scavenging for food in other people’s lockers and teachers using their own money to buy snacks for students and keeping drawers full of candy bars. granola in their classrooms.

Sauvola belongs to Wisconsin five Teachers of the Year 2025 who were honored as part of the annual State of Education address in September. This is the same formal event that Underly attended outlined its current K-12 policy priorities.

In a speech at the ceremony at the state Capitol, Sauvola described how some families in New Richmond exceed the current cutoff for free school lunch eligibility by $2 or less.

“Providing every student with access to free, healthy breakfasts and lunches eliminates the stigma associated with receiving free school meals,” she said.

Sauvola described growing up on a farm with a single dad and still remembers carrying a calculator to the grocery store to help her family stick to a tight budget.

“Guys, it’s quite simple. Good people don’t want children to starve. “Good people don’t look at those who have less and think that these people are worth less,” she said.

Cleo Krejci covers higher education, job training and retraining as a Report For America corps member for the Milwaukee Journal Sentinel. Contact her at [email protected] or follow her on Twitter @_CleoKrejci. More information about Report for America can be found at jsonline.com/rfa.