Hunger Task Force joins Milwaukee Public Schools to launch No Kid Hungry Wisconsin

Sherrie Tussler, Executive Director of Hunger Task Force joined forces with Milwaukee Public Schools (MPS) and Superintendent Dr. Darienne Driver at Congress Elementary School today to launch No Kid Hungry Wisconsin. Nearly 83 percent of children in the Milwaukee Public School District qualify for free or reduced-priced lunch, yet only 37 percent are eating school breakfast.

To combat this problem, Hunger Task Force has partnered with Share Our Strength’s No Kid Hungry campaign to connect more kids in Milwaukee with the healthy food they need every day. This partnership will endow resources to 20 Milwaukee Public Schools to provide breakfast in the classroom in areas of highest poverty.

Sherrie Tussler kicked off the event by recognizing the partnership Hunger Task Force has had with MPS – the two groups have been collaborating for over 40 years. She then spoke to the first graders seated on the carpet who were excited about eating a healthy, family-style breakfast right inside their classroom. “School breakfast can make a dramatic difference in students’ lives. Kids who regularly eat school breakfast have been shown to achieve 17.5 percent higher scores on standardized math tests and attend 1.5 more days of school per year,” said Tussler.

Dr. Driver took the podium and stressed the importance of eating a healthy breakfast and how it impacts learning. She added that through the campaign, 8,000 additional children will start their day with a healthy meal – overcoming barriers like transportation and stigma that otherwise kept students from getting breakfast.

“Milwaukee Public Schools is proud to be a leader in making sure our students are fed a healthy meal not only at lunch but also at breakfast so they start the day ready to learn,” MPS Superintendent Dr. Darienne Driver said. “We are proud to work with Hunger Task Force and No Kid Hungry to ensure our children are healthy and energized as they start every school day.”