During a meeting last Monday, Nov. 3, the Kenai Peninsula Borough School District Board of Education approved an increase to school meal prices, citing rising food and labor costs and reduced commodity support. The increase will go into effect in January for the remainder of the 2025-2026 school year.
The meal prices haven’t increased since August 2022. The new prices will largely impact the cost of adult meals, raising the price of breakfasts and lunches both by $2.50. The cost of elementary student lunches will rise by $0.10, increasing from $3.50 to $3.60. All other meal prices will remain unchanged.
Adult breakfasts were previously $3.00. In January, that cost will rise to $5.50. The most expensive meal—adult lunches—will go from $5.50 to $8.00.
“These adjustments are necessary to maintain compliance with the U.S. Department of Agriculture’s Paid Lunch Equity requirements and to ensure sufficient funds are available in the nonprofit school food service account,” an action item on the Nov. 3 regular meeting agenda states. “Federal regulations require school food authorities participating in the National School Lunch Program to cover the full cost of meals served to students who are not eligible for free or reduced-price meals, either through meal pricing or other non-federal funding sources.”
The only public comment during the meeting came from Homer High School teacher Winter Marshall-Allen, who said there are already a significant number of students who aren’t able to afford school meals.
“Some families don’t qualify after filling out the paperwork for free and reduced lunch,” Marshall-Allen said. She pointed to the numerous public comments around other items on the agenda, saying she appreciated the board’s efforts in looking for solutions.
“Look for another one for this too,” she concluded.
Kevin Lyon, Director of Planning and Operations for the school district, reiterated language included in the action item and said that increasing costs was necessary to make sure the district wasn’t pulling from its school food service account.
“If you look at the comparison for our district compared to the other big five, you can see that we’re definitely the lowest, especially for the kids,” Lyon said. “The adult increase is required by federal law.”
The “big five” he referred to are the Fairbanks, Kenai Peninsula Borough, Juneau, Mat-Su and Anchorage school districts. Out of the five, KPBSD has the lowest cost of elementary, middle and high school lunches. Juneau has the least expensive breakfasts across the board. Adult lunches are the most costly in the KPB and the Mat-Su districts.
Lyon added it’s difficult to find a meal in Kenai for under $11.00, and nutritious meals are typically even more expensive than that.
A recording of the Nov. 3 regular meeting and the agenda are available on the KPBSD BoardDocs website.
