Small change in Saugus lunch bill

SAUGUS – School lunches will be getting more expensive in Saugus come September.Meal costs at all schools will rise from a dime to 15 cents. In the elementary schools, the price will jump from $2.40 to $2.50; and it’ll be raised from $2.65 to $2.80 in the Belmonte Middle School and Saugus High.The unanimous decision to raise the price of school lunches, made last week by the School Committee, was made necessary by federal requirements, said board member Arthur Grabowski. The U.S. Department of Agriculture mandates that schools must charge a specific amount for lunches or they won’t qualify for federal reimbursements.”The federal government requires that you charge a minimum price and we were below that minimum price,” Grabowski said.”We had to raise prices,” he said. “Otherwise we would lose reimbursements for our expenses from the federal government.”It happens every once in a while,” he said. The last time Saugus had to raise the price of its school lunches was in 2012.”In addition, the committee made the decision to change food providers from Aramark, which the department has used in previous years.”We voted to recommend changing from Aramark,” Grabowski said. “Our contract is up this year. We sent out requesting proposals and got two.”One proposal was from Whitsons, a family owned company since 1979, and the other was from Aramark, he said.According to Whitsons’ website, “Meals prepared in our USDA-inspected, BRC certified, FDA-registered production facility are flash-frozen to preserve freshness and nutritional value.””We voted to go with Whitsons for a one-year contract,” Grabowski said. However, the committee hasn’t awarded the contract yet.”Our contract with Aramark is up in July,” he said.”We don’t know what the prices for providing their services will be yet,” he said. “It won’t affect student meal prices. It will affect the cost of the program,” he said.While the price of school lunches will only rise 10 to 15 cents per meal, the costs do add up for many families.Saugus Public Schools offer options for low-income families, including the Federal Free and Reduced Price Lunch program which is provided by the U.S. Department of Agriculture, according to Grabowski.”People have to apply and be certified based on their income,” he said. More information and applications for the program are available on the Saugus Public Schools website.