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Schools

School Meal Prices To Rise Next Year

Higher prices would make up only half of the food service deficit

As parents start budgeting for back-to-school supplies, there's one more added cost they'll have to consider. Cafeteria prices at North Kingstown public schools will be jumping this year.

Meal prices will rise from $2 to $2.50 at the elementary schools, from $3 to $3.25 at the middle schools and $3 to $3.50 at the high school.

One reason for the increases is changes in the federal law that governs free lunches, the Child Nutrition Reauthorization Act 2010. About 18 percent of North Kingstown students, or nearly 800 children, receive free lunches, reports Trish Crawley, food service director

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According to school staff, the government reimburses free lunches at $2.78 per meal, and requires schools to charge at least $2.46 on average for its meals. Under the former pricing, North Kingstown’s average minimum price was only $2.36.

A bigger factor driving prices upward is the ongoing deficit between the cost of providing food service and revenue generated. For the fiscal year that ended in June, the cafeteria service finished about $140,000 in the red.

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Food Services manager Trish Crawley estimates there will be a six percent increase in elementary students bringing lunch to school with the jump to $2.50. Despite this, Crawley estimates revenue will increase by $55,614. The high school price hike could generate and additional $15,200; the staff is suggesting new “premium meals” as a way to maintain high school participation.

“This would be combination of items not available via the cafeteria line, for instance, soup and sandwich with drink, or specialty diet items (hi/lo protein, kosher, etc.),” explained Crawley.

But the additional revenue from higher prices will total only $71,000, or half of this year’s deficit.

Under the direction of the school committee, the school staff is also studying a more fundamental change – outsourcing food service to a vendor in the 2012-13 school year.

“We are the last self-operating program in the state,” said former Superintendent Phil Thornton in June.

Vendors such as Sodexo and Chartwells provide food service for neighboring schools, with varying impacts on meal prices. Those food services cost the schools less and break even overall, Thornton said.

North Kingstown’s food service workers are represented by the Education Support Professionals association. Earlier this summer, dozens of association members spoke at school committee meetings urging the schools to work with them to reduce costs rather than outsourcing their jobs.

Thornton said providing its own meals gives the school system more control over food quality. However, Crawley said the schools have never done a survey on customer satisfaction, and she is unaware of any food service surveys conducted by nearby schools.

According to a survey conducted by school staff in May, elementary school lunches in Narragansett, South Kingstown and Westerly currently cost more than those in North Kingstown. The price was the same in East Greenwich, Jamestown and Exeter.

Under the old pricing, North Kingstown’s $3 middle school lunch equaled prices in Jamestown but were less in all other Washington County towns.

High school lunch prices are $3 in Exeter, less in East Greenwich and the rest of South County. Exeter and East Greenwich offer additional “premium meals” priced at $3.50 to $5.

Under the new pricing, North Kingstown school meals are equal to or higher than any in South County except Jamestown Middle School and Narragansett elementary schools.

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