Kids Forward

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Kids Forward A Wisconsin where every child thrives, esp. kids/families of color & those furthest fr opportunity.

10/07/2026

Overheard at the Affordability Forum 👉🏼👉🏽

It's not just you. The system is failing us.

10/03/2026

How do the wealthy few rig the rules? Here's one way - the state manufacturer's credit.

Tax credits that benefit low-income families—like the Homestead and Earned Income Tax Credit—have a maximum limit. There's only so much money you can get back. But the Manufacturer’s Credit has NO cap. Capping this credit would mean more funds to invest in child care, health care, or so many other urgent priorities for everyday families in Wisconsin.

Thanks to Sachin Shivaram from the Wisconsin Aluminum Foundry for joining us to talk solutions to the affordability crisis.

View full event at https://kidsforward.org/webinar-reimagining-an-affordable-wisconsin/.

10/02/2026

In Wisconsin, the wealthiest 1% pay a lower overall tax rate than the bottom 20%.

This affordability crisis didn’t happen by accident. It is the result of policy choices that have concentrated power in the hands of the wealthy few, while underinvesting in the things our families need to thrive.

Many thx to Eli Byerly-Duke from Institute on Taxation and Economic Policy and Sachin Shivaram from Wisconsin Aluminum Foundry for joining us to talk about solutions to this crisis.

View the full event here: https://kidsforward.org/webinar-reimagining-an-affordable-wisconsin/

10/01/2026

We all want to be able to afford more than just the fixed costs of living. But policy choices have concentrated power in the hands of the wealthy few, while underinvesting in the things our families need to thrive.

Thanks to Cristhabel Martinez from Leaders Igniting Transformation for joining us.

View the full event here: https://kidsforward.org/webinar-reimagining-an-affordable-wisconsin/

What if getting more Wisconsin-grown food into rural schools was as simple as finding a better way to get it there?For t...
09/25/2026

What if getting more Wisconsin-grown food into rural schools was as simple as finding a better way to get it there?

For the Wisconsin Food Hub Cooperative, that question led to Tend & Table boxes—a new way to connect rural schools with food grown and produced by more than 100 Wisconsin farmers and food producers.

Small farms often don’t have the resources to make long deliveries to rural schools. So WFHC brought farmers together to identify what they had available, what was in season, and what could work in school meals.

The result? Boxes filled with locally grown ingredients, delivered right to schools—including ingredients for a bean tostada recipe that earned rave reviews.

It’s a simple idea with big potential: support local farmers, strengthen rural communities, and bring more Wisconsin-grown food to kids’ plates.

Read the story here: https://innovateschoolfood.org/tend-table-boxes-connect-rural-schools-with-100-wisconsin-farms/

PS - got a good idea for how to help improve school meals near you? A final round of Spark Award applications will open October 30th. Stay tuned here for more!

09/22/2026

Robyn Calvey believes in paying her workers a fair wage and benefits. But when it comes to ensuring affordable health care, the current system makes that almost impossible. The coverage gap - when your income is too high for BadgerCare but too low to qualify for ACA Marketplace subsidies - means health care is unaffordable for too many farmworkers across our state.

Learn more about how we're fighting for a better health care system for everyone in Wisconsin here: https://kidsforward.org/home/ensure-health/

Read the full story here: https://www.wisconsinfarmersunion.com/post/health-insurance-family-farms

When Anita Garrett noticed her grandchildren were coming home with stories about school meals they didn’t want to eat, s...
09/15/2026

When Anita Garrett noticed her grandchildren were coming home with stories about school meals they didn’t want to eat, she couldn’t ignore it.

As a Milwaukee Public Schools grandmother, Anita remembered school meals from her own childhood differently: flavorful food, good smells filling the cafeteria, and meals that brought joy.

So in 2022, Anita started showing up at school board meetings.

Then she started asking other parents what they were seeing. She surveyed families and heard the same thing again and again: parents wanted more variety, more options, and—most importantly—a real voice in decisions about what their children were served.

What started with one grandmother’s determination grew into the Good School Food Advocates, a parent ambassador program that gives families the knowledge, confidence, and tools to advocate for better school meals.

Today, parents are speaking up at community events, serving on food advisory committees, and helping shape the future of school food in Milwaukee.

And Anita is still at the heart of it.

“We’re keeping hope alive,” she says.

Because when parents have a seat at the table, they can help make sure every child is fed, seen, and heard.

Read Anita’s story here: https://innovateschoolfood.org/the-foodright-parent-ambassadors-program-began-with-one-grandparents-determination/

PS - We're so excited to launch Year 3 of the Spark Award Grants on October 30. Stay tuned here to get all of the info!

Address

122 West Washington Avenue, Suite 620
Madison, WI
53703

Telephone

+16082852314

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