The Chadron School Board has raised the price of breakfast and lunch at all 4 district schools by 10-cents when classes start in August.
Breakfast at all 4 schools will cost $2.20. The Primary and Intermediate schools will charge $3.55 for lunch while the price at the Middle School and High School will be $3.65.
School Board President Boone Huffman says the administration worked with food service provider Lunchtime Solutions to find prices that meet rising costs without being too much for hard-pressed family budgets.
Lunchtime Solutions also calculated an increase based on inflation and the Consumer Price Index that was another 10-cents for breakfast, 25-cents more for elementary lunches, and 27-cents higher for lunch at the middle school and high school.
Huffman says inflation in food service costs was calculated at 7.4% last year and almost 8.3% for the coming year, putting a lot of guesswork in finding the best price to charge students.
Lunchtime Solutions has been helping the district the past 2 years with “supply chain grants” reflecting cost increases in that area,
Huffman says while the school board and administration are “generally happy” with the meal program, it has been running slightly in the red – a situation he hopes to see end in the not-too-distant future.
The Chadron School District lunch fund has about $300,000 in reserves, in large part to make equipment replacements or upgrades as needed.