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Cherry Rushin (2013 August, 27) School board increases lunch prices.
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School lunch price increase
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level: local
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article concerns: Graham ISD school board members voted to increase lunch
prices at this week's meeting.
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Given that the prices increase, those who are less fortunate that do not
qualify for free or reduced lunches can be affected.
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I don’t agree with the price increases because they are forcing students to go
to school and they are having them pay for their lunch. Younger students are
having to pay for lunch, school supplies that they share, and field trips. I
believe the school gets enough money to feed the student make it what it is.
The high school has off campus lunch so those who are less fortunate and do not
have transportation are forced to stay at the school and pay for lower quality
food at a higher price. They could have went with another option but they would
have to pay $7000-$10,000 If the school was not in compliance. I think that
would have been the better solution because it would make the school up to par
with the rules and regulations.
I completely agree with you and I think this is a very interesting topic. My focus with my degree is child nutrition and I am very passionate about children getting healthy meals. I think school lunches have been an issue for years now and I am in shock that Graham ISD would increase their lunch price. Elementary and Jr. High Schools are not even getting the adequate nutrition in their meals to start with much less raise the cost of unhealthy foods. Granted, some schools within supportive communities are getting better with the level of nutrition that is served in their school cafeterias (less vending machines). Just by the looks of their website and checking it out, they seem to be doing just fine, as in they are not looking for donations or fundraising to help offset bills.
ReplyDeleteWhoever decided that sauce on pizza is considered a vegetable is sadly mistaken in my opinion. Public schools have the means to keep their menu prices low and reasonable for those who financially cannot afford it. School lunch programs are already a huge deal because of the amount of people who qualify. Why raise it when statistics for the lower class are on the rise? With that being said, once the price is increased, those students on state and federal meal plans may not get that option anymore. What are they going to do? Parents of those children are relying on schools to feed their children when they can't adequately or nutritiously do it at home. Also going off what you said, school supplies and clothes are not cheap. My daughter just entered pre-school. She broke my bank and lunch is not even included! And with the added field trips and hopefully fundraisers that the students can be involved in, one would think that it would not be necessary. Neighborhoods also have to do with an increase or decrease due to socioeconomic status. I would think it would be that the poorly funded schools would have cheaper rates anyway then say a big 5A school in a wealthy neighborhood.
This article is a little older than this week but Baltimore School System raised their school lunches to one of the highest amounts in urban districts late August of this year. Their lunches are $3, up from $2.35 for elementary and middle school students and $2.65 for high school students. Although they raised the price, this plan allowed for low-income students to have free meals. The parents of children who do not qualify will pay an average of $117 more per year under this plan while the parents of children who were on the reduced-priced meal plan actually save by .40 per day. I am a little conflicted at this article though because although this is extremely helpful to low income families, this also puts more stress on the families who were making it work and were budgeting themselves.
http://articles.baltimoresun.com/2013-08-22/news/bs-md-ci-school-lunch-prices-20130821_1_community-eligibility-option-lunch-program-free-meals