For students eligible to buy a reduced-price lunch, the federal government provides $2.07 per meal but just 23 cents a meal for students who pay full price. Schools also receive lower-priced "commodities," such as meat, cheese and canned goods from the federal government.
Kate Houston, deputy undersecretary for food, nutrition and consumer services with the USDA, defended the federal support, saying that a 2005 study showed reimbursements on average kept pace with inflation.
She said her department is tracking prices to adjust reimbursement rates for next year. Rates likely will increase more than last year's 3 percent boost, she said, but probably not significantly.
School meal programs run on tight margins, so the gap between federal reimbursement and meal costs has school officials scrambling to respond. Adding to schools' challenges are increasingly stringent federal nutrition standards that require systems to purchase lower-fat dairy products, whole-wheat foods and more fruits and vegetables - options that are healthier but more expensive.
One North Carolina school system struggling to break even has begun offering Yoo-hoos in addition to the more nutritious milk because the chocolate drink company gives the system a portion of the sales to help cover mounting fuel and food bills.
"We're truly struggling, especially with reimbursements just not keeping up," said Mary Hill, president of the Alexandria, Va.-based School Nutrition Association and food services director for Jackson, Miss., schools.
"We're dealing with the early phases this year of the food prices going up, and it's frightening to even think about what next year will be like."
ruma.kumar@baltsun.com
Sun reporters Gina Davis, Sara Neufeld, Madison Park and John-John Williams IV contributed to this article.
