First Round Complete: Fueling Change in Wisconsin’s School Food System

Disinvestment in School Meals

Every child in Wisconsin deserves nourishing food at school. However, decades of disinvestment—stemming from racism and discrimination—have left our children with few healthy and culturally diverse options while they’re trying to learn.

Read more about what youth in Wisconsin have to say about school meals in our report, Wisconsin Youth Conversations.

To help eliminate these disparities, earlier this year we announced a grant opportunity of up to $250,000 to build pathways for local and nutritious food to reach more schools across Illinois, Michigan, Wisconsin and Indiana — especially in areas that don’t have equitable access to resources.

“This effort will help address health disparities among people of color who experience higher rates of poverty and food insecurity than majority populations which translates to higher risk of disease outcome. Nutritional health is so important because how we eat affects how we think and feel; this determines the trajectory of our life and how long we live to enjoy it,” shared Bridgett Wilder of Perseverance Health in Milwaukee.

First Round Complete

We’re so excited to announce that in the first round of grants (due April 30), we received 67 applicants! And, Wisconsin had the most of any state:

Illinois: 16

Indiana: 13

Michigan: 17

Wisconsin: 19

Out of State: 2

Thank you to everyone that took the time to consider and apply. Our goal is to support communities in providing nourishing food for our kids, and with so many great applications, making a decision will be incredibly hard.

The awards will be announced by June 30. Partnerships and coalitions across Wisconsin submitted some awesome innovative projects. Fingers crossed!

Wisconsin’s Wealthiest Have Prospered at the Expense of Everyday Families.

by Emily Miota | Aug 14, 2023

It’s time to fix this. Wisconsin can be a place where we all—regardless of race or place—have what we need to make ends meet and care for our families. But as our hard work has made the wealthy few in Wisconsin even richer, they’ve rigged the rules to redirect...

Our Take: The Wisconsin 2023-25 Biennial Budget

by Emily Miota | Jul 24, 2023

We appreciate Governor Evers being a stop gap for some of the most egregious proposals from the Republican-controlled Joint Finance Committee (JFC). But, if we want to actually address Wisconsin’s racial disparities, we have a lot more work to do.

Proposed Tax Cut Privileges Wealthiest 1%, Leaves Struggling Families Behind

by Emily Miota | Jun 29, 2023

Wisconsin can be a place where we all—regardless of race or place—have what we need to make ends meet. However, last week the Republican-controlled Joint Finance Committee voted for a tax cut that would aid in gutting supports for families. Letting Wisconsin’s wealthiest off the hook from paying what they owe means many struggling families are left behind, particularly children and families of color and those furthest from opportunity. We are calling on Governor Evers to stand up for everyday families and veto this tax cut for the wealthy few.

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First Round Complete: Fueling Change in Wisconsin’s School Food System

Disinvestment in School Meals