Wisconsin students continue to struggle with food insecurity

As more Wisconsin students continue to struggle with food insecurity, State Superintendent Dr. Jill Underly has proposed increasing access to meals at school by providing all Wisconsin students access to nutritious breakfast and lunch at no cost to families. Dr. Underly is calling for universal free meals as part of her 2025-27 Biennial Budget Request during a news conference Thursday in Kenosha. Dr. Underly’s universal free meals proposal, totaling nearly $294 million, expands access to nutritious school meals to all Wisconsin students. The 2023 Youth Risk Behavior Survey shows one in four Wisconsin high school students reported hunger due to a lack of food in their home.

Under the proposal, the DPI would create a new supplemental nutrition aid program offsetting costs to students and families for meals received while at school – both breakfast and lunch. In addition to the universal free meals proposal, Dr. Underly’s 2025-27 Biennial Budget Request will: Fund the School Breakfast Program at a reimbursement rate of 15 cents per meal and expand participation to include independent charter schools, the state’s residential schools, and residential childcare centers, which would amount to $6.1 million over the biennium. Strengthen local food supply chains by creating a new program encouraging school districts to buy directly from local farmers and producers and incorporate fresh, high quality, locally grown foods into school meal and snack programs at a cost of $10 million over the biennium. Fully fund the School Day Milk Program so more Wisconsin students have access to milk while at school, a cost of $458,900 over the biennium. And, create a new grant program to allow schools to purchase milk coolers or equipment to convert to bulk milk dispensers at a cost of $150,000 over the biennium.

These nutrition provisions add up to an additional $311 million in investment in nutrition for children. The DPI’s budget request, to be released in full in November, will propose additional significant investments in K-12 public education.