Families at 17 Kenosha Unified School District schools are starting the new school year without free lunches after the district scaled back a program that had provided meals to all students for the past three years.The change af fects schools that do not qualify for the Community Eligibility Provision, or CEP, a federal program that reimburses districts to serve free meals without collecting applications at low-income schools. To start the 2026-27 school year, KUSD has CEP programs at 14 schools.For the past three years, the district used surplus funds from its food service budget, known as Fund 50, to expand the CEP program district-wide. Those funds have since been depleted according to the district. Continuing the program would have cost the district a quarter million dollars a month, which officials say is unsustainable.The district sent out several notifications about the change to parents over the summer through different lines of communication.Nia Marnae, a KUSD parent, said the change came as a surprise to her family."My sister called me, my nephew is in a non CEP school, and he was freaking out and he was freaking out he's like, they didn't give me lunch, they gave me crackers. We're like what do you mean? We haven't experienced that before," Marnae said.She says the free meal program provided families with a sense of security. "It kind of gives peace of mind, because things change, finances change, you never know what's going on in this economy, that's just one less thing you had to worry about making sure your kids were fed"A proposal to address the issue at the state level did not move forward. Two years ago, State Superintendent Jill Underly proposed a universal free school meals program for four years to be added to the state budget, but it never passed the state legislature.Related | Wisconsin Department of Public Instruction proposes putting $300M toward universal free meals for studentsMarnae said keeping students fed should remain a priority regardless of a family's financial situation."No matter the circumstances, whether it's lack of income or poor financial decisions on the parent's end, the kids should not suffer for that."KUSD is urging families to fill out the free and reduced lunch application, noting it can carry benefits beyond free meals.This story was reported on-air by a journalist and has been converted to this platform with the assistance of AI. Our editorial team verifies all reporting on all platforms for fairness and accuracy.Its about time to watch on your time. Stream local news and weather 24/7 by searching for TMJ4 on your device.Available for download on Roku, Apple TV, Amazon Fire TV, and more.Report a typo or error // Submit a news tip ...read more read less