School Lunch Prices Take a Hike Across St. Michael-Albertville School District

 Did you get a cost of living adjustment in your salary last year? Here’s hoping so for parents of St. Michael-Albertville hot lunch eaters: lunch prices are getting a cost adjustment of their own, and it’s one that will have parents facing rising lunch prices for the next several years.

 Lunch last year at St. Michael-Albertville schools cost middle and high school students $2.20 and $2.05 for elementary kids. But as part of Michelle Obama’s Healthy and Hunger-Free Kids Act of 2010, school lunch prices must be raised to the current level that the federal government reimburses schools for a low-income students’ lunch, which is $2.46. For STMA, this means lunch prices must go up $.05 per year until this price is achieved.

 “We weren’t going to raise our prices, but we have to,” said Gayle Weber, school board vice-chair. “You know how it is in the grocery store: the stuff that is good for us costs more money, and fresh fruits and vegetables are more expensive than stuff in a can.”

 The purpose of the Healthy and Hunger Free Kids Act is to improve nutrition and reduce childhood obesity. According to the White House’s documents, over 17 million students live in food-insecure homes and nearly one in three students are recognized as obese. Since schools provides meals for over 31 million students, First Lady Michelle Obama wanted to set some new guidelines for making these meals healthy and balanced. Schools must put in place new nutritional standards for calories, sodium and other measures, and schools that comply will receive additional funding. An emphasis will be placed on more variety of fruits and vegetables, especially fresh or raw rather than just canned.

 Superintendent Dr. Ziegler said that, although certain kid favorites will be harder to come by with these new standards, parents shouldn’t expect to see any major changes in the coming year, as prices will only be going up a nickel and they are also contending with rising food prices. However, they do need to raise their prices in order to stay in the federal school lunch program and receive discounted prices on commodities and receive reimbursement for free and reduced lunch students.

 “Our lunches are already quite balanced, but [the federal government guidelines] are really rigid in their requirements, such as how many times a month we’d be able to offer French fries for kids,” Ziegler said.

She added that prices for individual items, such as milk or a la carte items, will not go up.

 “This is simply a compliance in order to continue to get free and reduced lunches,” she said. “We have to stay within guidelines of pricing. Being part of that federal program will help kids get a good lunch at a reasonable price.”