Each year students are asked to pay more for lunch even though this is necessary for the school to provide the meal

By Amanda Nguyen
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The cost of a school lunch increased 35 cents this year from $1.90 to $2.25 and senior Patrick O’ Shaughnessy is one of the many students upset about the increase.

“I feel (increased lunch prices) are unfair,” he said. “They charge kids a lot of money for low-quality food. Two dollars a day for a week is $10, and a month is $40. It’s too much for a lot of families to pay with rising prices and inflation on the dollar,” O’Shaughnessy said via e-mail.

However, Amy Anderson, supervisor of food and nutrition services, said via e-mail, “It is a necessary evil. In some ways, the students are feeling the effects of the economic conditions of the times. The sacrifices they are making now will seem small if the United States and global markets do not improve.”

O’Shaughnessy said that he now only buys school lunch three days a week to save his parents some money that they need for other expenses. “A large number of my friends have started eating less and less and have started bringing lunch because of the prices and because it is cheaper in the long run,” O’Shaughnessy said.

Anderson said she was the person who suggested that lunch prices should be raised. She said, “Our costs continue to increase, causing us to pass some of those increases on to our customers. Any item that we purchase that is delivered has an increased transportation cost, which has caused prices to increase.”

According to Anderson, the cost of a truckload of produce increased $4,000, and the price of corn on the Chicago market increased almost 250 percent in the last two years Almost all of the cafeteria’s protein items such as chicken, beef, turkey and pork were all grain-fed animals, and grain prices have also increased. The cost of these items, along with many others, caused the cafeteria to increase the meal prices.

“Lunch prices increased this year mainly because our costs have dramatically increased since our last price increase three years ago,” Beth Galloway, assistant manager of the main cafeteria, said via e-mail. “Our dairy costs alone have increased by 30 percent over last year. Also, due to the rising cost of gasoline, many of the companies that deliver to us add on a fuel surcharge. This also serves to increase our prices just to cover that.”

Anderson said another factor in the raised lunch prices is food theft. “(Theft) really isn’t a small issue. If a kid steals from us, they are basically really stealing from you because you are going to pay for what they

Galloway, who is also a parent, disagreed with O’Shaughnessy and said that the cost of school lunch is still a bargain.

“As a parent, I am personally affected by the rise in lunch prices with two of my own children in the Carmel Clay School system. If I take my two daughters out for a fast food lunch, it costs about $4.50 or more for one lunch that is not really nutritious. It seems like a bargain to me to get milk, an entrée and two sides for only $2.25. Some of those who are complaining about the rise in school lunch prices don’t realize that it is still a good value compared to market prices,” Galloway said.

O’Shaughnessy said he believes that something should be done about the raised prices.

“Even dropping the lunch prices 10 to 20 cents will save families 50 cents a week. It doesn’t seem like much, but 180 days of school is saving a family 20 bucks or more. For some families, it is the difference between paying a certain bill or not,” O’Shaughnessy said. He also said that it would be more helpful for many people if the lunch prices were reduced, especially because of America’s current economic situation.

O’Shaughnessy said, “I think it would be fair if they put lunch prices back the way they were last year. That’s 35 cents a day saved, which is, added up, a decent amount of money that can be added towards many things that are important to a family, especially with the economy.”

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THE RISING COST OF LUNCH

Over the years, lunch prices have consistently risen. Here’s the breakdown:

2003 to 2005 – $1.75

2007 – $1.90

2008 – $2.25

STEVEN CHEN / GRAPHIC