State superintendent Dr. Jill Underly and the Wisconsin Department of Public Instruction announced they're calling for universal free meals for students across the state.
Underly proposed a nearly $300 million nutritional program to increase the access of healthy meals for Wisconsin students.
"How can we expect our kids to strive when so many try to do so on an empty stomach," Underly said. "It doesn't have to be that way and it shouldn't be that way...its long past time our state meets the needs of our students and provides them access to healthy meals while at school, at no cost."
Food service worker, Belinda Petkovic, has prepared meals for Kenosha school students and is excited about the proposed funding.
"Now we know that no kid is left behind and every child is getting a meal," Petkovic said. "It's really nice that we might be getting more funding than that because it's providing meals for all the students and time is tough right now."
Underly has included a "major" provision in her 2025-27 Biennial Budget request, totaling $294 million. That funding will go toward improving access to healthy meals for Wisconsin students by providing access to no-cost breakfast and lunches.
According to the DPI's 2023 Youth Risk Behavior Survey, more than a quarter of Wisconsin high school students reported being hungry due to a lack of food at home. Under the proposal, DPI would create new a supplemental nutrition aid program that offsets costs to students and families for meals received at school.
Watch: Wisconsin Superintendent of Public Instruction wants to introduce universal free student meals.
Funding would also help schools buy directly from "local food supply chains," increase access to the School Day Milk Program, and create grants to allow schools to purchase new milk coolers.
Underly was joined by the food service director at the Kenosha Unified School District when making her announcement. Staff with KUSD prepare nearly 13,000 meals for students every day.
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