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You might have to pay five to 25 cents more a day for your child’s lunch at school next year, which could cost you $45 a year per child.
Escalating food and fuel costs nationally are forcing schools across the state to consider raising cafeteria prices next year.
At least three Columbia-area school districts are discussing increasing meal costs.
“What we’re seeing is that the cost of everything is going up,” said Vivian Pilant, state director of the office of school food services. “Usually it’s one thing. This year, everything is going up.”
State education officials have advised districts to budget 10 percent more for food costs in the 2008-09 school year.
At least 30 percent of the state’s 85 school districts have told state education officials they are considering increasing costs to parents.
Some of the factors driving the increase in the costs of food to schools are:
• The price of gasoline has increased transportation costs of all food.
• Milk prices have increased more than 30 percent in the past 12 months.
• Grain and corn prices are up because of the demand of corn as a biofuel (ethanol) as well as a food crop.
In Lexington-Richland 5, administrators have proposed the district raise next year’s lunch prices by 25 cents.
That would bring an elementary-school lunch to $2. Middle and high school students would pay $2.25.
The district also might carry less inventory to prevent food from going bad or being wasted.
Last year, the district was $189,405 over budget for food, leading officials to dip into their reserve fund to cover the cost. They expect a similar overrun this year.
Right now, district officials say they don’t have plans to change their menus, which in recent years have been updated to offer more healthful options in addition to popular pizza and hamburgers.
What are other districts doing?
Lexington 2 officials are considering raising some prices by 20 cents and others by 25 cents.
Lexington 4 is proposing to increase lunch and milk prices five cents next year.
Richland 2 administrators are studying whether to request the board increase meal prices.
The federal government pays $2.47 per meal for students who qualify for free and reduced-price lunches. That cost will not be affected.
Parents said they understand the need to increase prices.
Every month, Brenda Hendrix writes a $32 check to Oak Pointe Elementary to cover her second-grade son’s lunch. Although the Lexington-Richland 5 proposal would add an extra $5 to that monthly check, she said it’s still affordable.
“It’s more cost-effective to have them eat there,” she said.
The one thing that won’t change is the availability of low-fat and whole-grain offerings, said Ben Madden, Lexington-Richland 5 coordinator of food services.
“The last thing we would want to sacrifice would be the nutritional value of our meals.”
Reach Copeland at (803) 771-8485.
