As more of America's children depend on free and reduced price school meals during the economic downturn, schools are grappling with rising costs that surpass the federal reimbursement rate for these meals.
According to a new School Nutrition Association (SNA) report, released during National School Lunch Week (Oct. 12-16), three-quarters of school nutrition directors surveyed nationwide said that the National School Lunch Program Reimbursement was not sufficient to cover the costs of producing a meal during the 2008-2009 school year, nor do they anticipate the reimbursement to cover costs for the current school year.
To view the complete report, visit this link:> SNA has found that the average cost to prepare and serve a school lunch that meets federal nutritional standards is $2.92, but the federal reimbursement rate for that free lunch is only $2.68, leaving financially strapped schools to make up the substantial funding gap. SNA is calling on Congress to provide greater federal support for school meals during reauthorization of the Child Nutrition Act this fall.
"School nutrition programs offer affordable, healthy meals to students, and we are working to keep meal prices reasonable, but schools are getting squeezed by federal reimbursements that simply do not keep pace with rising costs on everything from food and labor to napkins and spoons," said School Nutrition Association President Dora Rivas, MS, RD, SNS, and executive director of Food and Child Nutrition Services for the Dallas Independent School District in Texas.
Over half of school districts indicated they expect to face continued increases in the cost of food, supplies, labor, gas and transportation. In spite of these financial pressures, school nutrition programs are not compromising nutritional quality. School nutrition professionals are addressing fiscal challenges in a variety of ways.
-- 46 percent plan to decrease their labor force -- 45 percent plan to increase meal and/or A la Carte prices -- 44 percent plan to decrease financial reserves