GREEN BAY, WI (WTAQ) – One area State Representative is trying to make sure that all kids in Wisconsin are fed properly at school.
Republican Representative Gary Tauchen says he is concerned about lunch shaming, which impacts kids who are not always able to pay for their school meals.
“People will take trays away and they will have kids have lesser quality lunch or breakfast.”
The legislation would prohibit schools from not allowing kids to eat if they don’t have money in their account, would also permit schools to accept donations or gifts that are dedicated to pay for student meals.
Tauchen says the process is in the beginning stages, but he does have some support from colleagues and aside from the possible financial piece of the puzzle, assumes both parties should get on board.
“These are kids we are talking about and we know that they need to have a good start to the day or their ability to learn is impacted.”
Different schools have different policies to help struggling families.
Some examples are a brown bag program which is lunch that is provided to students that have a meal account in the negative.
Tauchen says it is better than nothing, but he worries about the quality and quantity of the meal.
“These kids need a little more than just a peanut butter sandwich and an orange.”
Some schools have free and reduced lunch programs where families that fall in a certain financial bracket are given a discount on lunch prices.
Tauchen says not enough schools have that procedure and is looking for a more consistent approach across all the school districts in Wisconsin.
“We have 421 school districts in the state, so that is one issue that we are going to be talking about as we try to develop this piece of legislation.”
