19 months ago
By:Rising food costs may tighten your budget at home, but it could also change what's on your kid's lunch tray.
Lisa Keaton drops in at Hilltop Elementary in Houston County a few times a week, to eat lunch with her daughter Haley. She usually eats whatever's on the menu, as long as it's healthy.
"Having fresh fruits and vegetables and salads are very important, because that's her health we're talking about," said Keaton.
Jeannine Hill runs Houston County's nutrition program. She says it's her number one priority to have fresh fruits and vegetables available for every lunch all year, but this year she had to make a change.
Food prices rose so dramatically during the school year, she says she had to cut back. She decided to switch from fresh fruits to frozen and canned.
"We kept the fresh vegetables, the salad bars those kinds of things, but we had to take off fresh fruit because the prices were just so out of whack," she said.
Hill says food for Houston County Schools' cost $4.6 million this year. That increased from $4.3 million last school year, up about 7 percent. She says she expects prices to go up 13 percent next year to about $5.2 million.
Hill says the kids actually enjoy healthy foods and she's prepared to increase the cost of lunches to keep vitamin filled fruits on kids trays.
She says the nutrition program isn't funded by the school board. It gets all its money from the federal government and what families pay for each meal.
"I do believe it's critical that we still have fresh fruits and vegetables and not compromise the menu," said Hill.
Keaton says she doesn't mind a frozen strawberry here and there.
"It's sad that the school lunches are being affected, but I still enjoy the school lunches. They are very healthy for her," she said.
Hill says Houston parents will probably see an increase in their kids school lunches next year.
She says to be able to keep serving fresh fruits and veggies, they'll most likely have to increase the cost of school lunches from $1.75 to $2.
