Due to low participation in its lunch program, Talawanda School District in Oxford, Ohio, is raising the price of school meals this year, Patch.com reports.
The cost of school lunches will see a 30-cent increase, half of which is being enacted to cover the district’s budget. The other half is being required by the government to cover the cost of free and reduced-price lunches provided to low-income families. Prior to this year, the district had not raised prices since 2009.
The district’s cafeterias have experienced a decline in student participation since implementing the Healthy, Hunger-Free Kids Act, which resulted in a substantial loss in revenue. In 2011, the cafeterias saw a combined profit of approximately $20,000, but by fiscal year 2014, they had a net loss of $40,000.
Brenda Wright, president of the Classified Staff Association, told Patch.com that students give a variety of reasons for not eating lunch provided by the cafeterias, such as long lines and dissatisfaction with the menu items served.
The district says the increase should allow it to balance the budget and avoid an increase for the next two years.
Read the full story via Patch.com.