Parents may have to dole out more money for school lunches if cafeterias are to maintain nutrition standards, according to advocates who say federal funding for school lunches is falling behind a rapid rise in food and energy prices.

The School Nutrition Association (SNA) and other groups are calling for Congress to boost federal support so that schools won’t have to impose higher fees on students.

SNA claims the U.S. Department of Agriculture’s (USDA) 4.3 percent hike in the federal reimbursement rate to school nutrition programs isn’t nearly enough for schools to cover their bills. This week’s adjustment raised the subsidy through the National School Lunch Program to $2.57 for each free lunch.

SNA said the price of preparing nutritious school lunches has seen an 11.6 percent increase this year, bringing the average cost of a healthy school lunch to $2.88. Although schools can receive an additional 20 cents of food per student through the USDA commodity distribution program, federal funding will still fall 11 cents short of SNA’s estimated meal cost, the group said.

The House Education and Labor Committee will hear testimony on the problem at a hearing on Wednesday.
Peterson said that the organization’s push for more federal funding has met with support from Democrats and Republicans.

“Child nutrition is a bipartisan issue,” he said. “We have support from both sides of the aisle.”

The largest obstacle to increasing funding for the program will likely be cost, Peterson said. The program cost $8.2 billion in the 2006 fiscal year. Peterson estimated that the program cost about $10 billion last year.

“It would be expensive when you are talking about 30 million meals a school day,” Peterson admitted. “It adds up fast.”

Peterson argues that the problem has been exacerbated by higher prices schools are paying for nutritious meals that include fresh fruits and vegetables. He said the federal reimbursement program, which is based on a complicated index of prices, isn’t keeping up with the needs of schools.

“Schools have specific nutrition guidelines for what can and cannot be offered,” Peterson said. “By nature, the healthier items tend to be more expensive.”

SNA is not campaigning for a “magic number” in regards to a funding increase, according to Peterson. He suggested that Congress could take a variety of actions, such as changing the reimbursement rate more frequently or taking into account different statistics of food price increases.

“We’re optimistic,” he said. “The price tag is the biggest challenge, but there’s so much evidence out there from school nutrition programs that are struggling.”

Congressional Democrats want to boost funding for school nutrition, according to a spokeswoman for Rep. George Miller (D-Calif.), chairman of the Education Committee.

“Chairman Miller really believes that the federal investment in the nation’s child nutrition programs has not been adequate,” said Rachel Racusen. “Clearly, food prices are rising at dramatic levels. He believes that providing children with healthy, low-cost meals should be a top national priority.”

Alexa Marrero, a spokeswoman for the committee’s Republicans, said the funding problems for school lunch programs are another reflection of rising energy costs, which has driven up the cost of food. High gas prices are also causing the elimination of field trips and even school bus routes, she noted.

“I think the most obvious issue we ought to be talking about when we’re talking about higher commodity prices is gas prices,” Marrero said. “I think that’s an issue that’s being ignored on the part of the Democrats and I think we’re seeing some serious consequences because of it.”

Rising food costs are making it increasingly hard for poor and middle-class families to afford nutritious food, according to Jim Weill, president of the Food Research and Action Center . That only heightens the importance of school lunch programs.

“Rising food costs are creating a huge crush on families, so families need better access to child nutrition programs,” Weill said. “That’s not just school lunch and school breakfast but summer food programs and childcare food programs.”