Fargo, North Dakota – The Fargo School Board has sanctioned a rise in the cost of school lunches for the 2023-24 academic year, as decided at their meeting on Tuesday, June 13.
According to the USDA Economic Research Service, there has been an 8% inflation in food prices over the past year, and they forecast an additional 6% increase for 2023. The district’s expenditure to provide a meal has escalated by 15% to $3.85, up from $3.36 in the 2021-22 academic year.
On June 6, 2023, the Planning Committee assessed federal guidelines, compared pricing data from across North Dakota, analyzed the financial status of the nutrition services department, and pondered over options for proposed price increases. Consequently, the committee has recommended that meal prices should increase as follows:
For the 2023-24 academic year, the proposed increase and the resultant price are:
- Elementary Breakfast: From $1.45 to $1.55 (an increase of $0.10)
- Elementary Lunch: From $2.45 to $2.55 (an increase of $0.10)
- Secondary Breakfast: From $1.60 to $1.75 (an increase of $0.15)
- Secondary Lunch: From $2.75 to $2.85 (an increase of $0.10)
- Adult Breakfast: From $2.25 to $2.50 (an increase of $0.25)
- Adult Lunch: From $3.60 to $3.75 (an increase of $0.15)
- Extra Milk: From $0.40 to $0.45 (an increase of $0.05)
The planning committee, comprising the Director of Nutrition Services and the Business Manager of Fargo Public Schools, has suggested that the yearly financial impact on a family would be between $17.50-$26.25. The exact figure depends on the student’s age and the meals they choose to purchase.
This increase is anticipated to bring in additional revenue of approximately $103,100, which will help offset operating costs for the 2023-24 academic year. The rise in meal prices accounts for the impact of food inflation, the expected decrease in federal reimbursement, and the significant gap from the federal recommended meal price.
The ‘Keep Kids Fed Act of 2022’ had temporarily granted federally subsidized meal programs an additional reimbursement of 40 cents for lunch and an extra 15 cents for breakfast to combat supply chain challenges and COVID recovery. These funds, however, expire at the end of the current academic year. A projected reduction in reimbursement for the next school year amounts to $590,500.
In a state-wide comparison, the Fargo School District’s prices for student breakfast and lunch remain below the average.
