School meal prices rising this fall as federal pandemic program ends

Area schools are increasing the cost of student meals up to an additional 30 cents for the 2022-23 academic year after two years of providing free breakfast and lunch through federal waivers.

Districts have provided free meals to students since the start of the pandemic in March 2020 when the U.S. Department of Agriculture began reimbursing schools and child care centers. Free meals — breakfast and lunch — were then extended for the 2021-22 school year. But the waivers are set to expire June 30.

While an annual five to 10 cent increase in school meal prices are common, contributing to the cost this year are increased food expenses, supply chain shortages and higher staff wages, some nutrition directors say.

College Community School District nutrition services director Ginny Scott said she is “really nervous” about the free federal school lunch program ending.

“We have a lot of kids that have started to participate because of the free meals, especially breakfast,” Scott said. “When kids have full tummies, a lot of behaviors are eliminated and they’re able to concentrate on what they’re learning.”

Since 2018, Iowa requires school nutrition programs to feed all students who want a school meal breakfast and lunch. However, if a household does not pay for the meals, the school nutrition program carries the debt, Scott said. Donations from outside sources may be accepted to counteract the debt, but it’s difficult to disperse the funds equitably and the donations are not a constant source of relief.

Scott said she expects students’ meal accounts now will incur more negative charges because families may not be able to afford meals and are no longer in the habit of depositing money in to their child’s account.

While College Community nutrition department’s debt is typically no more than $5,000, larger school districts like Iowa City can face the debt reaching as high as $80,000, but averages about $35,000, said Alison Demory, nutrition services director for Iowa City schools.

The Iowa City Community School District’s budget for meals is about $7 million each year, including the cost of food, supplies and labor, Demory said. Taking out the cost for students who qualify for free- and reduced-price meals, Demory said it would cost $3 million to keep school meals free for all students.

“There is not a nutrition director in the state who took this job because they wanted to be a bill collector,” Demory said. “We do this job because we want to feed all kids. We would all love to have free meals for students, but if that doesn’t happen we’ll take all the steps we can to remind families to apply for the free-and -reduced meal program.”

College Community is increasing its meal prices 15 cents, the first increase since the 2019-20 school year, Scott said. The highest cost for lunch is for students in grades 7-12, from $3.05 to $3.20 per lunch.

The Linn-Mar Community School District is increasing its lunch prices between 20 to 25 cents, depending on the grade level. The highest cost for lunch is for high school students, which increased from $2.90 to $3.15. The cost for breakfast for all students is increasing 30 cents from $1.70 to $2.

Clear Creek Amana Community School District is increasing lunch prices by 5 cents. The highest cost for lunch is for high school students, which is increasing to $2.90. Breakfast prices will remain the same.

The Cedar Rapids school board will approve meal costs for the 2022-23 school year, communication director Colleen Scholer said in an email.

Many of Cedar Rapids schools will qualify for the Community Eligibility Program, a federally funded program, which means they will continue to have free breakfast and lunch for all students. To qualify, at least 44 percent of students at the school need to qualify for free- and reduced-price meals.

Typically, districts are reimbursed for meals only when students qualify for free- or reduced-price lunch through the National School Lunch Program. Many families' income levels are just above the allowable amounts to qualify for the meals, Scott said.

Families can apply for the free- or reduced-price meal program in any school district at www.myschoolapps.com/Home/PickDistrict. A new application must be completed every year. Reduced price meals are 30 cents for breakfast and 40 cents for lunch.

Families who do not qualify for free- or reduced-price meals will need to begin depositing money in to their student’s meal account to prepare for the cost of school lunches next year.

Around 35 percent of students in the Iowa City Community School District qualify for free- or reduced-price lunch, but Demory said that number is likely higher because some families who qualify don’t apply for the program.

Since meals have been made free during the pandemic, schools have seen an increase in the number of students taking school meals, which includes fruits and vegetables, milk and whole grains. Breakfast participation in Iowa pre-pandemic was ranked as one of the lowest in the country. With universal meals, district participation increased by approximately 50 percent.

“At the end of the day, my job is to feed kids,” Demory said. “That’s what we want to do, and we want to remove any barriers we can to make sure we’re feeding everybody and anyone we can.”

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