LOPPW Letter to Governor Walker

Posted by Amy on Thursday, 10 February 2011

The Honorable Scott Walker
115 East Capitol
Madison WI 53702

Dear Governor Walker:

Grace and peace to you as the new Governor for the State of Wisconsin. As you prepare and discern your budget priorities for the upcoming fiscal years, we request that you carry forward the recommendations of the Department of Public Instruction for funding of school breakfast and lunch programs.

Free and reduced-priced school meals are a critical component in the fight to end hunger and address the root causes of poverty in our state. Students that experience hunger face staggering hurdles in the effort to learn and succeed. Providing two healthy meals to children helps to reduce stress for families struggling to put food on the table. For many children, the meal at school is not only a reliable source of nutrition, it may be their only meal of the day.

The School Breakfast Program provides a healthy start to the day for 283,000 Wisconsin students. The Department is requesting $3,117,200 for FY 2011-12, and $3,397,500 for FY2012-2013. The increase in funding will provide a steady rate of 11.6 cents per meal to the growing number of schools that have decided providing breakfast to their students is a tool for success.

DPI is also recommending level funding of the school lunch program at $2,789,400 for FY2011-12 and $2,789,400 for FY2012-13. The School Lunch Program provides a free or reduced price lunch to 335,000 low income students in Wisconsin. This adds up to nearly 40% of Wisconsin public school students who qualify for school lunches. Enrollment in the program has increased in each of the past seven years regardless of the economy. The state share is only 4 cents per lunch per student. We would be hard pressed to find another program in our state that costs so little and impacts so many lives.

The Lutheran Office for Public Policy in Wisconsin is a ministry of the Evangelical Lutheran Church in America and the six synods with congregations in Wisconsin totaling nearly 450,000 Lutheran Christians. Each of our policy priorities must address hunger in our state and make a difference in the lives of our neighbors in the pews, down the street and those we will never meet. We have been dedicated advocates of school meals in Wisconsin because it both immediately feeds a child, and helps a student succeed in their studies giving them a chance to break out of poverty. We believe that all of God’s children should be given the ability to live life as God has intended without hunger and free of poverty.

Many blessings to you and your staff as you manage this challenging budget cycle. Please know that ELCA congregations around our state pray for our elected leaders each week, and that you be guided with the wisdom you need to ensure no one goes to bed hungry in Wisconsin.

In Grace,

Amy M. Johnson
Lutheran Office for Public Policy in Wisconsin