Wisconsin students going hungry?

Of the more than 12,000 children who qualify for free or reduced-price meals at central Wisconsin public schools, about one-third are getting food assistance during summer break.

Child advocates fear this means kids are going hungry.

Gannett Central Wisconsin Media compiled statistics from the largest public school districts in Marathon, Portage and Wood counties to determine the number of children enrolled in the free and reduced-price meal programs during the school year, and compared that with the numbers of children participating in summer programs where lunch is served.

The result: A gap of nearly 8,000 children.

The state Department of Public Instruction provides funding assistance through the federal Summer Food Service Program to school districts and nonprofit agencies to continue meal programs for all children ages 18 or younger, but only a fraction of the kids who are eligible are getting food through the program.

River Nitka, 7, of Plover is one of those who is. He is typical of many children fed through either a school district or nonprofit agency during the summer.

River is an intense, wiry boy with a shock of white-blond hair and piercing eyes who doesn't mince words. His face is serious when he talks about eating meals during the summer at the Plover site of the Boys & Girls Club of Portage County.

"It's good. I like it," he said. "Sometimes there's not much food (at home)."

Like thousands of other central Wisconsin parents, River's mother works long days to make sure bills are paid and her family is fed.

"I'm a single mom with four boys and it's not easy," said River's mother, Cara Nitka, who said she makes about $30,000 a year as a customer service representative at a Stevens Point company.

Besides the food program, after-school and summer child care is provided at community Boys & Girls Clubs for a minimal membership fee. Nitka said she's not sure how she would cope financially without the school lunch program and Boys & Girls Club.

"The meals make a huge difference and the boys have great opportunities to play with friends and be active at the Boys & Girls Club," she said.

The free and reduced-price meal program at schools is a federally-funded program administered by the Wisconsin Department of Public Instruction for students from low-income families. It helps keep the price of lunch free or low for students to ensure they are getting the nutrition needed during the school day.

Meals are free to children who live in households with annual incomes at or below 130 percent of the federal poverty rate, which is about $31,000 per year for a family of four. Students approved for reduced-price meals are from households with an annual income that is under 185 percent of the poverty rate, or about $44,000 per year for a family of four.

The number of children enrolled is based on parents applying for the assistance. Not every family eligible necessarily applies for the program, school district officials say.

About 2,800 children qualify for free and reduced-price meals in the Stevens Point district. Of those, the district's summer school program is feeding about 1,000 children, based on the numbers of lunches served during the first two weeks of the program and provided by Sarah O'Donnell, administrative and public relations coordinator for the Stevens Point Area Public School District.

The Boys & Girls Club of Portage County is feeding another 350 children in the community this summer. Though Portage County is feeding an above-average number of its eligible kids, Brittany Melby, director of development and marketing for the club, said more children need help.

"This is a serious challenge," Melby said.

Consistent nutrition critical for children

Melby and other advocates are worried about kids going hungry over the summer because nutritious, healthy meals and snacks are integral to the development of children.

Boys & Girls Clubs across central Wisconsin are making sure Nitka and other children get more than a safe place to play over the summer. They also are ensuring that kids are eating nutritious food during their summer break from public school.

"Good food is critically important to for a child's growth and development," Melby said. "Their bodies, their brains are developing and nutrition is key."

"Sometimes I think our Boys and Girls Club is one of the best kept secrets in Stevens Point," Melby said. "If we had 100 additional children show up tomorrow, this would be the best problem in the world. We want to help children, to serve the kids who need it the most."

Meeting the need

While the major school districts in Stevens Point, Wausau and Wisconsin Rapids provide meal sites open to all children age 18 or younger during summer school, regardless of whether they are enrolled in public school, the Marshfield district does not have a similar program.

The Marshfield district looked into providing a summer food program, but didn't meet the federal requirement, said Dee Wells, district superintendent.

About one-third of the Marshfield district's 4,000 students were enrolled in the free and reduced-price meal program during the 2014-15 school year, according to state records.

"(Providing a summer food program) is something to keep our eyes on. This could change in the future," Wells said.

A fraction of those students, about 100 children, get lunch during the summer school session through enrollment in other programs in Marshfield. About 50 children eat lunch through the Marshfield Clinic Youth Net and Lincoln Elementary School programs, said Jennifer Smith, the food service coordinator for the programs.

Another 50 children are being helped through a summer food distribution program started by the Marshfield Area United Way to continue to support children in the agency's school-year program, Nutrition on Weekends, that sends backpacks of snack foods home with eligible children on Fridays for the weekend. About 20 families signed up for the summer program, said Mary Wolff, program coordinator the the United Way.