School lunch prices are going up around Tampa Bay. Here's why.

Yahoo

27-05-2025

Students across Tampa Bay will face higher meal costs as school districts struggle to balance rising food prices and uncertainty from the federal government.
In Pinellas County, elementary school lunch prices will rise by 50 cents to $2.75, by 40 cents to $3.15 in middle school and by $1 to $4.50 in high school.
Pasco County elementary and middle school lunch prices will increase by 15 cents to $3.40 and by 20 cents to $3.95 in high school.
The price increases don't apply to students who are part of schools that offer free breakfast and lunch to all students in low-income areas or those receiving free or reduced price meals through other programs. Schools qualify for free meals if more than a quarter of its population in the previous year accepted federal aid or were identified as homeless, foster children or Head Start enrollees.
Hillsborough County students won't see a price change amid the district's budgetary uncertainty.
Tanya Arja, a spokesperson for the district said Hillsborough was prepared for this.
'Our district is able to keep the cost of our school lunches the same next school year because we have been proactive in our planning to work through any financial constraints,' she said in an email. 'Also, as a large school district, we benefit from significant purchasing power, allowing us to secure a better value for our school lunches.'
Pinellas and Pasco officials said finances have been difficult. Budgets for school breakfast and lunch programs that don't tap into general funds and are largely dependent on federal funds.
Dustin Walker, director of food and nutrition for Pinellas County Schools, told school board members costs have skyrocketed since 2020 and haven't come back down. They initially received about $4 million in supply chain assistance funds, he said, but that expired in 2023.
The Consumer Price Index, a tool used to measure how prices change over time, shows a 7% increase in costs, he said. The impacts of President Donald Trump's tariffs on foreign goods and potential federal reimbursement rates remain unclear.
Stephanie Spicknall, Pasco's director of food and nutrition services, said the district's meal program lost about $4.8 million last year. This year they're projected to lose another $5 million. The cost to produce one meal is $3.63, she said. They are reimbursed 53 cents per meal through the U.S. Department of Agriculture.
'Our cost of food and supplies are at an all-time high and rising,' she said. 'We now are facing tariffs. So that's just lots of funding uncertainty and fiscal uncertainty in our program right now.
'Our main federal reimbursement is the (U.S. Department of Agriculture) reimbursement rate that is issued annually in July,' she added. 'So we don't even know what our main source of funding will be for next school year.'
Both Pinellas and Pasco counties said they are exploring other ways to lower costs and offer different options.
Walker said Pinellas schools would be piloting a 'scratch kitchen' program to offer more restaurant style or skillet cooking as opposed to 'heat and eat.' They would explore different distributors, he said.
Still, Spicknall said, federal regulations make it difficult to go too outside the box.
'We have very strict nutrition parameters,' she said. 'They've already reduced salt down to a therapeutic diet, and they're going to target sugar next, but we try our best and work with manufacturers to create palatable items that students do still love to consume.
'So, yeah, I can't just go find a better price for macaroni and cheese or the pancakes, because they have to be whole-grain rich and meet certain parameters for sodium and fat and all other criteria.'
When asked by Pasco's school board if the Trump administration had loosened any of those dietary requirements, Spicknall said that if anything, they had gotten more strict, with anticipated bans on food dyes coming next.
Spicknall said there is also legislation to change what schools qualify for free meals. Additionally, federal aid cuts could shrink the number of students eligible for free meals.
Walker said Pinellas County will be encouraging more eligible families to apply for free or reduced lunch.
'We've also had conversations about how we make sure that our cafeteria managers are ready if they're seeing the trend of a student who can't or isn't coming (for meals),' he said. 'We're making sure that we follow back up as a food nutrition department, not always just the principal or (assistant principal) having those kind of conversations.'