School lunch prices to increase in fall 2022 for Medina Schools

MEDINA — Free breakfast and lunch for students in the Medina Schools will come to an end at the end of the school year. The price of meals also will be a bit higher when the 2022-23 school year begins. The Medina School Board unanimously approved an increase in the school lunch prices as recommended by Superintendent Aaron Sable during Monday's meeting. School lunch prices will all increase by 25 cents, with breakfast prices remaining $2.50. Sable said this will be the first increase in four years for the department. "We try to do 25 cents so we don't have to raise it for a few more years," said Angie Sellars, food service and children nutrition supervisor for Medina Schools. At the elementary school level, prices will go up to $3.25. At the middle and high school levels, regular lunches will cost $3.50 and deluxe lunches, which depend on the food being served each day, will cost $3.75. Any adult is purchasing lunch from food services will pay $4.75. Sellars said it's typical to have a few staff and faculty members purchase lunches throughout the week. "(Inflation) is something that has definitely impacted food services and we need to address that in lunch prices," Sable said. Sellars said that with the current supply chain issues, the next school year will be unpredictable regarding the maintenance of the price increase. Over the past two years, Medina Schools, along with other districts throughout the country have not had any students pay for their breakfast or lunch based on a program created by the United States Department of Agriculture. Throughout the pandemic, the USDA provided free school lunches for all students. Sellars said the waivers are to end on June 30 without renewal. "We are anticipating going back to regular national school lunch and school breakfast program next year," Sellars said. During the two-year period, Sellars said that there was an increase in the number of students getting lunch on a daily basis, which she expects to see a drop in the fall without a renewal. With the start of the next school year, breakfast and lunch fees will go back into place as they were before the pandemic began, Sable said. "My hope is to continue to feed all the students we possibly can," Sellars said. Contact reporter Sara Crawford at (330) 721-4063 or scrawford@medina-gazette.com.