School Lunch Prices Rise Due to USDA Regulations

The Mehlville School District will raise school lunch prices by 10 cents starting in the fall to improve nutrition and comply with United States Department of Agriculture (USDA) guidelines.

The district, which participates in the National School Lunch Program, receives government food commodities for use in school cafeterias. In a letter sent to parents Thursday, Katie Koester, director of school food and nutrition services, said that while the program is an excellent partnership with the government, there are several guidelines the district must follow. 

Effective July 1, Section 205 of the Healthy, Hunger-Free Kids Act of 2010 requires school food authorities participating in the National School Lunch Program to provide the same level of support for lunches served to full-pay students as they do for lunches served to students eligible for free lunches. 

The USDA currently requires school districts to charge at least $2.46 for lunches. The Mehlville School District charges $2 per lunch at the elementary level and $2.25 per lunch in secondary schools. Therefore, prices must be raised to comply with guidelines.

“Unfortunately, healthy meals can be more expensive," Koester said. "It’s to provide more support for nutritious meals so we have more funds available to provide those meals to all students.”

To make the transition to higher lunch prices less severe for district families, the USDA is allowing school districts to gradually increase prices throughout the next few years. To be in compliance with USDA’s new guidelines, lunch prices for the 2011-12 school year will be increased to $2.10 at the elementary schools and $2.35 at the secondary schools. There will not be an increase in breakfast prices for the 2011-12 school year. The USDA allows districts to have slight increases of around 10 cents annually until regulations are met.

Koester, who has been in her position for more than a year, is also is a registered dietician. She stressed in the letter to district families that the decision to raise lunch prices was not one made by the district, but instead it is a USDA requirement.

She said that salad bars with fresh produce, in-season fruit and more whole grains will be added to all of the secondary schools, and a goal of hers for the upcoming year is to get more healthy-eating education into the classrooms. 

For qualifying families under particular financial stress, there is assistance available through the free and reduced meal program. Each district family receives a mailing with an application, and each reduced meal is  40 cents -- that price is not changing for the upcoming school year. This is a confidential service. Applications also can be found online

For more information on USDA school lunch guidelines, visit the USDA website.