WASHINGTON 鈥斅燭hree area school systems are raising prices for meals.
Price jumps聽in Prince William County, Prince George’s County and Alexandria City public schools聽range between five聽and 20聽cents for students not eligible for free or reduced-price lunches.
Families with a child聽eating both breakfast and lunch in Prince William County Public Schools will pay a total of about $19聽more this school year.
per meal are rising by a nickel for the second time in two years. That makes the cost of a high school lunch there now $2.70, exactly聽the national average聽according to聽the U.S. Department of Agriculture.
School聽food services聽working with聽the National School Lunch Program are nonprofit, and the feds have a聽 that sets prices based on how many free or reduced-price meals a school system provides.
In the Prince George’s County public schools, the cost of breakfast increased 10聽cents this year, to $1.60 for all grades. Lunch increased 15聽cents聽to $2.75 in elementary school. High school lunches now cost $3.
The biggest area price hike of 20聽cents for lunch聽in Alexandria City Public Schools makes the cost now聽in elementary schools聽$2.65. Secondary school lunches will be $2.85. Breakfast costs will remain the same in Alexandria.
In D.C., public school聽students pay nothing for breakfast, an afterschool snack and afterschool supper meals. Full price DCPS lunches for children pre-K through fifth grades cost $2.10. Students in 6th through 12th grades聽pay $2.60 for lunch.
The school聽food business is getting increasingly sophisticated.
In聽Montgomery County schools, for example, the secondary school聽 lists calorie counts for everything from the Asian chicken and rice bowl聽(398-432 calories) to rosemary potatoes (100 calories).
In聽Arlington County,聽a new聽 and聽app allows families to filter out menu items based on dietary restrictions. Other features include nutrition information that鈥檚 listed with聽pictures of every food item.
