Rising food prices pinch local school lunch menus

Suffolk students shouldn't count on piling their school lunch plates with corn or potatoes in the fall. They may be available only on a limited basis.

Teens in Norfolk won't see sliced black olives or jalapeno peppers on the deli line. Rice bowls and lasagna probably won't show up as often, either.

Because of rising food prices, South Hampton Roads school divisions are altering breakfast and lunch menus and increasing how much they charge. The same is happening nationally.

"We're looking in all areas to save cost," said James Ratliff, food services director for Virginia Beach schools. "We want to be sure we still have the quality in regards to the food."

Across the nation, food prices rose 5.1 percent from April 2007 to April 2008, according to the Bureau of Labor Statistics' Consumer Price Index.

The prices of b read, cheese, milk and pasta - staples of school menus - rose between 12 and 17 percent in 2007, based on United States Department of Agriculture Economic Research Service data.

The USDA provides at least 15 to 20 percent of the food served as part of school lunches. The rest is purchased commercially, with reimbursements from the USDA. Meals provided to students for free or at a reduced price are reimbursed at a higher rate.

To continue receiving subsidies, schools are required to provide milk and other nutritional, yet pricey, items. But the money doesn't cover all expenses, which forces school districts to get creative to recoup costs.

Rising salary and fringe benefit costs, as well as oil prices, also play a role, said Erik Peterson, spokesman for the Alexandria-based School Nutrition Association.

At least 100 school districts across the country raised lunch rates in April, up from 40 during the same month last year, Peterson said. The average is 15 to 20 cents per meal, though some have increased as much as 50 cents, he said.

In South Hampton Roads, the price of a school lunch ranges from 85 cents to $1.80, depending on grade level and school division.

The Chesapeake School Board in April voted to raise regularly priced lunches by 15 cents for next school year, which will generate another $300,000.

Norfolk, Portsmouth and Virginia Beach haven't made any decisions about price increases.

Suffolk's breakfast and lunch went up 15 cents per meal this school year, said Brian Williams, supervisor of Food & Nutrition Services.

"We've promised that we would not raise it next year, so we're stuck right now, " said Kevin Alston, Suffolk's assistant superintendent for administrative services.

"The likelihood that we're going to raise prices after two years is high."

Williams has heard from vendors that some prices have increased as much as 20 percent.

A 5 percent increase in the Suffolk school division's overall food costs would add up to about $130,000, he said.

Helen Phillips, senior director of Child Nutrition Services for Norfolk schools, said school divisions are taking a hit as well when purchasing disposable supplies, including Styrofoam trays and "meal kits" with a plastic fork, a straw and a napkin.

"Every student that eats every single day gets a meal kit, and they've gone up 18 percent," Phillips said.

To make ends meet, Peterson said, schools also are combining fresh and frozen vegetables, replacing grape tomatoes with less expensive varieties and cutting full-size carrots instead of serving the popular, but more expensive, baby carrots.

"The name of the game is examining every little cost to determine what makes sense economically," he said.

In Suffolk, Williams said he relies on a la carte snack items that meet wellness guidelines - such as reduced-sugar fruit snacks, baked chips and juices - to generate revenue.

Phillips said nonrequired items that increase in price by 20 percent or more could be cut from the Norfolk menu.

The School Nutrition Association wants the USDA to re-examine its reimbursement rates, which are adjusted every year based on inflation and the Consumer Price Index.

"Our concern is that in past year that increase has been 2, 3 percent" while the price increase of food has been more like 5 or 6 percent, Peterson said.

This school year, the base reimbursement rate for districts in all but Alaska and Hawaii is 23 cents per regular meal. The base reimbursements for free and reduced lunches are $2.47 and $2.07, respectively.

An April meal-cost study conducted by the USDA determined that, on average, "revenues from reimbursable lunches exceeded the cost of producing them." But Phillips disagreed.

"We want to provide the best quality, the best nutrition," she said. "Every year it gets harder and harder."

 Hattie Brown Garrow,  (757) 222-5562, hattie.brown@pilotonline.com