You can help Sturgeon Bay School District families have full bellies during the school day with a friendly donation. According to the Education Data Initiative, the national public school meal debt is $176 million, with nearly 69 percent of schools carrying at least some of that total. Since schools cannot pay off meal debts using federal child nutrition funds, they either write it off as a loss or rely on state, local, or charitable sources to offset the total.

For Sturgeon Bay School District Food Service Director Jennifer Spude, it has become part of the job. She says many families they serve make good enough money during the summer that they do not qualify for free or reduced lunch during the school year. School lunch costs are usually the last to get paid off when bills pile up. That has added up to thousands of dollars in unpaid school lunch debt for Sturgeon Bay School District. While it can be easy to say no, Spude says she owes it to the kids to ensure they are fed with high-quality food. 

Spude says she started the Angel Fund in recent years to provide matching funds to help struggling families pay off their debt. She adds that churches and other benefactors have stepped forward in recent weeks to see how they can help. Governor Tony Evers proposed free school breakfast and lunch for all Wisconsin students as part of his 2025-2027 budget, but Republicans have been lukewarm to the idea.