Schools

School Menu Changes Include Price Hike

Parents, students will see increased prices, new menu items for school breakfast and lunches this year.

Parents will have to dig a little deeper into their budgets to ensure their children have school breakfast and lunch.

According to a press release, lunches will cost $2 at elementary schools and $2.25 at middle and high schools, a 25-cent increase in both. The cost for breakfast rises from $1 to $1.25 at all levels.

The changes were approved in the past few months.

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"The meal prices are going up in part due to new nutritional guidelines that are part of the , as well as due to operational costs," said Jorge Quintana, a spokesman for the school district.

The school district last raised the price of school lunch four years ago, he added. And, the price of breakfast had not increased in 10 years, he said.

Besides the price changes, students can expect to see new menu items. Chewy granola bars, all-natural fruit strips, Amazin’ Raisins, premium roasted chicken, a yogurt-muffin fruit platter, tortellini alfredo, chicken-sausage and sweet potato tots.

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Last year, Gwinnett Counts schools served 22.2 million student lunches and 9.9 million student breakfasts. The school district is expected to serve about the same amount of meals in the coming school year. Based on recent figures, about 80 percent of the student body participates in the lunch program, and about 35 percent participate in the breakfast program.

In addition, the school district will be continuing its Farm-to-School initiative, which partners with local growers to feature Georgia-grown items on the menu. The program started last year.

“Eating locally grown foods are more nutritious and taste great,” said Karen Hallford, the school district’s registered dietitian, in a press release. “The minute a crop is harvested the nutrient content begins to decline. Therefore, the sooner we can get the foods to our students, the more nutrient dense they are.”

As part of the Farm-to-School initiative, schools also will continue with the district's Nutrition Education and Training, or NEAT, program. The program seeks to educate and encourage students to make healthy eating choices.

Popular food items last year: By The Numbers

  • 3.5 million servings of orange juice
  • 1.8 million bottles of spring water
  • 1.6 million servings of strawberry yogurt
  • 1.4 million servings each of whole grain pizza and Asian chicken boneless wings
  • 758,304 servings of vanilla pudding
  • 617,472 servings of broccoli florets
  • 261,000 servings of apples
  • 224,094 servings of watermelon
  • 146,412 servings of bell peppers


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