To: Madison Metropolitan School District School Board Members and Administrators
From: [Your Name]

Dear Madison Metropolitan School District School Board Members and Administrators,

I believe that every student should be guaranteed access to free and healthy breakfast and lunch in the Madison Metropolitan School District (MMSD).

Food insecurity is at record highs as families struggle to make ends meet under capitalism and cost of living increases. Currently, many families are subjected to debt collection for unpaid school lunch fees and collectively MMSD families owe over $190,000 (and rising) in unpaid lunch debt. Any barrier to consistent, free and healthy school meals for Madison’s students is unacceptable.

Charging families for school lunch is harmful in so many ways, all of which can be solved by funding free school meals for all. The cost of lunch is an immediate barrier to students who cannot afford it, and it is currently causing students to skip lunch. This funding structure creates stigma for students on free or reduced lunch and those with high school meal debt. The structure also forces the Food and Nutrition Department to act as debt collectors which adds administrative costs and harms relationships with MMSD families. School meal debt impacts every student as "Uncollectible" debt eventually gets paid for from the Food and Nutrition Budget. These administrative and debt settlement costs are funding that should be spent on healthy meals for our students!

Switching to universal free school lunches is an equity-based, moral demand of our school district that has numerous benefits. With funding from MMSD to cover school lunch costs, the Food and Nutrition Department can eliminate debt collection costs and transition their full focus to providing healthier school meals for kids. For example, the new scratch cooking equipment at Nuestro Mundo only cost $50,000 - just a portion of debt collection and settlement costs. School districts that convert to free school meals have seen an over 30% increase in meals eaten! Universal access to healthy meals provides meaningful financial and nutritional support to students and families. Better nutrition also leads to improved educational outcomes and better student behavior. The benefits far outweigh the costs. It’s time for Madison to join districts across the country in providing free meals to their K-12 public school students!

I join my community in calling on the MMSD School Board and Administration to:

(1) Transition to a Universal Free School Meals model by becoming a Community Eligibility Provision school district by the 2026/2027 school year at the latest (with at least 10 more CEP schools by the 2025/2026 school year). Until MMSD moves to be a CEP district, allocate additional money to the FND in order to settle all school meal debt once per semester, instead of continuing to settle debt annually by taking funding directly from the FND department’s operating budget.

(2) Invest in Food and Nutrition staff in order to meet the increased demand associated with a free school meal model without compromising continued investments in food quality.

(3) Invest to increase healthy and culturally relevant meal options, including scratch cooking.