Waukesha Schools Opt Out Of Free Federal Lunch Program

Editor's Note: This article has been corrected to clarify that the Waukesha School Board opted to return to the National School Lunch Program at its June meeting, instead of continuing to use waivers that it had been using under the Summer Food Service Program to provide free meals through the 2021-2022 school year. At a special August meeting, the board reversed its decision and moved forward with using the waivers for the Seamless Summer Option.

WAUKESHA, WI—The Waukesha school board opted out of a federal program giving all students free lunch this year. Waukesha was the only district in the state to opt out.

Now upset parents are responding with a petition.

Dave Dringenburg, a WSD parent and member of the grassroots group Alliance for Education in Waukesha told Patch a rally was held in front of the district office, 222 Maple Ave.

"Instead of feeding all of our kids, they’re attempting to feed us statistics and data to justify this decision, data that doesn’t hold up to scrutiny. So, we want the district to hear us support our kids, grandkids, friends and family loud and clear," Dringenburg said.

The group also created a petition on change.org asking the district for an emergency meeting to reverse the decision. As of Wednesday, it has over 1,200 signatures.

The U.S. Department of Agriculture offered school districts an extension of its Seamless Summer Option meals program in response to the pandemic for the entirety of the 2021-22 school year. The program — typically only available when school is not in session — makes free lunch available to all students without income requirements for free or reduced lunches.

During the 2020-21 school year, the district had participated in the Summer Food Service Program, a similar program that had also received a waiver to operate during the 2020-21 school year as opposed to just over the summer months. The board voted unanimously in June to return to the National School Lunch Program, a federally assisted meal program that requires parents to complete a form and provide income information in order to qualify for free or reduced cost meals.

Decrease in program applications

An email was sent to staff on Tuesday explaining the decision.

When the district decided to participate in the summer program in 2020, families were no longer required to complete forms to receive free or reduced-price meals.

“On the surface, it made sense because everyone was getting a free meal(s). However, it elevated its importance as you think about how this data (free/reduced meal percentage) is used in our funding and other community assistance programs. We have a serious concern that our family's willingness to complete the applications would continue to decline over the period of time free meals were provided,” the district said in its email.

The low levels of applications and participation may interrupt not only a student's ability to access meals but might also lead to the defunding of instructional programs that assist students, the district said.

The total number of applications for free or reduced lunches in the 2019-'20 school year was 606. In 2020-'21, it decreased to 297, according to the district.

In addition, the district said demand for the free meals fell.

“When you compare last summer's number of meals served to the current summer's level of participation, it is down 40%. This indicates a lowering in the demand for this program. When looking at the free breakfast program, especially at the high school level, each student was handed a meal as they walked in the door. This led to a significant amount of uneaten food and meal-related materials (napkins, plastic wear, etc.) ending up in the trash,” the district said.

Waukesha County Food Pantry Executive Director Karen Tredwell told WUWM that she had concerns about the district opting out of the summer program.

"My concern is that not only are they not participating in a program that could greatly benefit their students, there is not going to be any positive benefit to taxpayers in the county if they don’t participate," Tredwell said.

The district said it will continue to have universal free breakfast at the schools that meet the program qualifications. “We will continue to work directly with families on an individual basis,” the district said.

Patch has partnered with Feeding America to help raise awareness on behalf of the millions of Americans facing hunger. Feeding America, which supports 200 food banks across the country, estimates that in 2021, about 42 million Americans may not have enough nutritious food to eat due to the effects of the coronavirus pandemic. This is a Patch social good project; Feeding America receives 100 percent of donations. Find out how you can donate in your community or find a food pantry near you.