When the flood of students rushing into the cafeteria eased to a trickle, Maria Darnell — the kitchen manager at Alameda’s Lincoln Middle School — texted her boss. “524 lunches today!” …
When the flood of students rushing into the cafeteria eased to a trickle, Maria Darnell — the kitchen manager at Alameda’s Lincoln Middle School — texted her boss.It had been nine months since California began providing free meals for its public school students, no matter families’ income level. Even so, Darnell was still shocked by how much the program had changed demand.
“We’re feeding more kids, and we’ve hired more staff,” said Nicole Meschi, the nutrition director at the Cupertino Union School District. “But with the sunsetting of the increased reimbursement rate policy, it’s going to be really difficult to balance our budgets.” James Assia, the nutrition director at the Alameda Unified School District, said he’s seen the price of bread, rolls and tortillas go up by 85% since Russia invaded Ukraine. Then there’s the cost of lettuce, Darnell added, which had tripled in price by the end of last year. Denisse Mendez, the nutrition director at the Alum Rock Union School District, said her biggest worry is milk — the cost of which has doubled since 2020.
“At the end of the day, food costs are increasing, and labor is increasing,” said Mendez. “If the reimbursement rate doesn’t offset the true cost of the program, that’s going to be really challenging.” Because of that, the state has supplemented funding with one-time grants to improve kitchen facilities, provide staff training and connect kitchens to local farmers, among other initiatives to strengthen the quality of school meals.
Alameda Unified School District Food and Nutrition Services worker Maria Carter, right, works with other staff members in the Lincoln Middle School kitchen to prepare lunch service on Monday, May 1st in Alameda.
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