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Free meals for all MPS students on the way
Free meals for all MPS students on the way
MILWAUKEE (WITI) -- A good meal can make all the difference in a day. At least that's the thought behind the new program in the Milwaukee Public School District. All students at each of the district’s 156 schools will be able to have a free healthy breakfast and lunch this upcoming school year.
It’s a federally funded program through the U.S. Department of Agriculture. The district is eligible for it because the majority of the students come from low-income households. Last year, 83 percent of the students were eligible for free or reduced priced meals. The problem, MPS officials say, is not every one eligible took advantage of it.
They think this program will change that, and in fact some of the schools that have already started the school year, like Ronald Reagan College Preparatory High School are already seeing results.
“We’re seeing more kids take advantage of this opportunity of the eligibility in the sense of before, I think our lunches were about 650 and we’re about 300 over that for lunch and really a big increase in our breakfast enrollment too which I am very happy about,” said Mike Roemer, the principal at Reagan IB.
As an early start school Reagan IB is especially happy about the growth it’s seeing in the breakfast program.
“We have kids coming from all over the city, many kids waking them up at 5:30 in the morning. So it's a concern that students are eating and eating well in the morning,” said Roemer.
He said it`s about a 30 percent increase in breakfast alone. Now they’re hoping that those numbers translate to the classroom.
“The students, instead of being in class and their stomach is grumbling and they’re distracted because they’re hungry, they get in class and they’re ready to learn,” explained Tina Barkstrom, the administrator of school nutrition for MPS.
“Less listlessness in the morning, much more focus in terms of paying attention and the teachers are seeing students not as sleepy,” said Roemer of what they’re already seeing in the first weeks of school.
For parents, the change means they won’t have to submit a meal benefits application. However, families will be asked to complete a survey for the district which will be used to determine eligibility for fee waivers and other educational benefits.