Above: Food Service Director Maura Feeley (right) talks about the cost of lunch at last night’s School Committee meeting
Whether their favorites are chicken fingers, pizza, pasta, sandwiches, or salads, it’s going to cost your kids a bit more next year to buy lunch at school. The K-8 School Committee last night voted unanimously to raise the cost of lunch by $0.25 in all Southborough schools next year.
In recommending the “modest” increase, Superintendent Charles Gobron said it was necessary to keep pace with rising food, materials, and labor costs. The food services program at the schools currently is self-funding, and Gobron said the increase will allow it to continue to be.
The cost of lunch for a student will increase from $2.50 to $2.75. The cost of a deli lunch at Trottier will increase from $2.75 to $3.00. Staff lunches will also increase from a current $3.25 to $3.50 next year. The price of a carton of milk will remain at $0.50.
In a letter to Gobron, Business Director Cheryl Levesque said the cost of school lunches has been increased twice in the past decade – once in March 2004 and again in February 2009.
In addition to keeping the program break-even, Levesque said the increase will keep Southborough in line with neighboring communities. According to data she compiled, the cost of elementary school lunch ranges from a low of $2.25 in Ashland and Hopkinton to a high of $2.75 in Holliston, Hudson, Shrewsbury, and Westborough. The cost of lunch at middle school in each of the communities is generally $0.25 more.
Food Service Director Maura Feeley told the School Committee they opted for a single price across all Southborough schools in an effort to streamline the program, especially for those parents who have children in multiple schools. She also noted that Trottier has two different options: the standard lunch at $2.75 and a deli option at $3.00.
