FARMINGTON — When students who pay the full price for lunch go to school in late August, they will be paying a bit more.

Those who receive free or reduced lunches at a cost of 40 cents will not see a change. Breakfast prices will also remain the same.

Regional School Unit 9 directors voted Thursday to increase lunch prices by 10 cents at the recommendation of new Food Service Director Andrew Hutchins. This will keep the district in compliance with federal regulations, which require the cost of lunches to cover the cost of producing them.

The 10-cent increase will bring the full-paid lunches at the elementary level to $2 and the grade nine through 12 lunch price to $2.25 for 2016-17. 

Prior to the increase, the district was losing 90 cents on elementary school lunches and 65 cents at the high school level, Hutchins said. With the increase, the district will reduce its losses.

He will propose a 25-cent increase to lunches for the 2017-18 school year to help close a 31-cent gap between what the district charges for full-paid lunches and the cost to make them.

The cost of producing lunches for the fiscal year-to-date for grades kindergarten through 12 averages $3.21, he said. That breaks down to 99 cents for food, $2.07 for labor and 14 cents for other items such as paper goods.

Hutchins plans to implement changes in the Food Service Nutrition Program that include adding new technology, more student choices and more offerings of fruits and vegetables, he said.

dperry@sunmediagroup.net

Copy the Story Link