WILMINGTON, MA — At Wednesday night’s meeting, the Wilmington School Committee unanimously approved a price increase for school lunches for the 2020-2021 school year.
- Elementary school lunch prices will increased by 30 cents — from $2.45 to $2.75.
- Middle school and high school lunch prices will increase by 35-40 cents — from $2.65-$2.85 to $3.00-$3.25.
- Breakfast prices will increase by 25 cents — from $1.50 to $1.75
- Adult lunches will increase by 20 cents — from $3.80 to $4.00
These represent the first increase in school lunch prices since 2015.
According from data from Food Services Director Mary Palen, Wilmington currently has lower school price lunches than Tewksbury, Billerica, North Andover, Stoneham, Andover, Chelmsford, Reading and Wakefield. These increases will bring Wilmington more in line with many of its neighbors.
The price increase comes after a review from the Massachusetts Department of Elementary & Secondary Education, which recommends school district’s have a balance in its food services revolving account to cover 3-4 months of operating expenses. Wilmington is currently hovering just around the 3-month line.
Additionally, the United States Department of Agriculture and Department of Education recommend school lunch prices be increased each year by a minimal amount — something Wilmington has always resisted. The federal government wants the district’s paying students to be at or very close to the cost of the federal government & state government reimbursement for free lunch.
“We have been below that and have been for a very, very long time,” Mary Palen told the School Committee. “I wouldn’t want to do that every year to parents.”
Palen, however, could not rule out another increase for the 2021-2022 school year due to all the uncertainty surrounding COVID-19. She fears her department will see a “significant” increase in paper costs.
Assistant Superintendent Paul Ruggiero thanked Palen and her Food Services Department for handing out nearly 40,000 meals to students through its curbside program since March 20, 2020.
“It’s been a tremendous effort and so welcomed by this community,” said Ruggiero.
Superintendent Glenn Brand read Palen an email from a 4th grade teacher who noted more than half her students, unsolicitedly, raved about the program during a virtual classroom session. Students were thrilled with the amount of food received with each bag and how good the tacos tasted.
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