Bartholomew Consolidated School Corp. will raise school meal prices by 10 cents for the 2020-21 school year.
According to a memo written by director of operations Brett Boezeman, elementary lunch will now cost $2.80. Secondary lunch will cost $2.90. For all students, breakfast will now cost $1.45.
For adults, lunch will cost $3.60, and breakfast will cost $1.95.
Boezeman said that the cost of reduced meals will not increase.
“The Healthy Hunger Free Kids Act mandated that schools raise the price of lunches if current charges are less than the national average, which is determined on an annual basis,” Boezeman wrote in a memor to school board members.
The rule exists “to make sure sufficient funds are in place for meal service for paid students.” He added that while the estimated national average lunch cost for the 2020-21 school year is $3.09, BCSC is only required to raise a minimum of 10 cents.
The last time the prices were increased was when they rose by 10 cents for the 2019-20 school year.
Boezeman said that while BCSC is still forming its reopening plan, it is likely that school meals will look slightly different. He said possible changes include serving procedures, social distancing and not using shared utensils in salad bars (if these remain open).
Boezeman noted that some parents have expressed concerns that the new year could see less nutritional or “very basic” meals for students. He said this will not be the case.
“Even if students end up eating in different places than the cafeteria, which may or may not happen, they’re still going to have, still going to meet the nutritional guidelines,” he said. “They’re still going to have choices with their meals.”
