Ben Gruber saw a pair of matching numbers and found a way to illustrate why school lunch debt is still a thing in Wisconsin.
Gruber is the Democratic challenger to Rep. Todd Novak (R-Dodgeville), who ranks near the top of legislators’ per-diem payments – part of the reimbursement lawmakers get for meals, miles, and lodging, on top of their $61,000 annual salary.
Novak received an additional $14,000 in per-diems in 2025, which Gruber noticed is right in line with the roughly $14,000 in school lunch debt held by the Pecatonica Area School District in his area.
For several years, Democrats have proposed a “Healthy School Meals for All Act” that would make school lunches and breakfasts free for all students, regardless of family income. It would put meals on par with how we don’t charge students for books or bus fare. Some Republicans have balked at the cost. Gruber sees a double standard in legislators paying themselves for the meals they’d eat anyway while forcing families to pay for meals at school.
“There is no reason that we cannot feed kids at schools where the government forces them to go and to be at,” Gruber told UpNorthNews. “We can absolutely figure out how to fund a program while prioritizing products that are raised and produced right here in Wisconsin.”
Do you agree? Choose the option closest to your opinion.
• Healthy School Meals For All has my full support. How is lunch debt even a thing when we’re paying for tax cuts, wars, and legislators’ per-diems?
• I like the concept, but I’m not ready to say I fully support it. Maybe we need a higher cutoff so that wealthy families’ kids have to pay something.
• Keep the system as-is or with mild tweaks to make school meals more affordable.
• Scrap any school meal assistance. Families should feed their own kids. Either pay for what schools prepare or pack something yourself. Now get off my lawn!
Click your choice in the box below.
Feel free to say more in the comment box—and leave your first name and hometown so we can share your answer in our next newsletter.
