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Schools

District 158 Lunch Cost Is Raised Per Fed Regulations

Twenty-cent increase per lunch is first in three years.

Chef's salads, chicken patty sandwiches, sub sandwiches, seasonal fruits, vegetables and bread sticks are some of the menu items for's students this year, as price adjustments are made in response to a change in federal regulations.

A 20-cent increase for each lunch is included in this year's prices, whcih range from $2.20 to $2.50 per student, said Mark Altmayer, CFO for District 158.

He explained what Healthy, Hunger-Free Kids Act of 2010 means for the district. The federal government is requiring districts in the national school lunch program to over the next three years start charging students the same amount they are being reimbursed for each lunch.

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For example, if a school is reimbursed $2.20 per lunch and only charging $2 from the student, the 20 cent delta could be seen as a benefit for the school district. But often, districts actually spend more per lunch than they are reimbursed by the government or by the purchaser, he explained.

"The government wants to ensure that districts are not skimping on food services," Altmayer said. "There are a lot of districts out there that are only receiving $2.40 but are spending $3-4 per lunch."

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District 158 increased its lunch prices by 20 cents this year and will most likely do so again for the next two years, Altmayer said.

"Our number one goal is to provide a healthy lunch," he said, adding the increase will make a significant difference in budgeting, since the district serves more than 1 million lunches per year and an increase has not been assessed for the past three years.

"We haven't increased our meal rate, but over that time, the cost of food and produce has increased significantly," he said. "And certainly this well help us manage our food services budget."

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