Schools Facing Increased Food Cost Challenges
Wolf Point is one of the many schools in the state and the nation that is experiencing higher lunch costs than in previous years.
Cheri’ Nygard, clerk of the Wolf Point School District, said about $884 more is being spend per month on food by the school district than a year ago.
“Without looking at any other factors, this increase could be attributed to stock on hand, higher participation rates or higher prices or a combination of all of these,” Nygard said.
The U.S. Department of Agriculture announced a $1.5 billion investment in September designed to help schools acquire the food supplies necessary to continue providing quality meals.
Montana State Superintendent of Schools Elsie Arntzen has announced that the state is partnering with the USDA to provide assistance funds to help overcome supply chain issues.
Montana will receive $5,159,810 from USDA in funding relief. The three options for the funding include supply chain assistance funds for districts to purchase foods; additional USDA foods to be available for school districts; and local foods through state agreements with local producers and/or processers.
“The chain supply crisis is a concern for all, especially our Montana schools,” Arntzen said in a press release. “However, here’s an opportunity for local schools to use this funding to ensure our students are consistently receiving the nutrition needed to prioritize learning. I am particularly pleased with the focus through local farm-toschool foods to showcase our great Montana producers.”
Of the $5,159,810 funding from the USDA, Montana will receive a total of $3,639,90 for school districts to purchase unprocessed and minimally processed domestic food such as fresh fruit, milk, cheese, frozen vegetables and ground meat. Montana Office of Public Instruction School Nutrition staff will allocate the funds to districts based on student enrollment with a minimum amount of $5,000 per district. An additional $791,922 entitlement will be available in additional USDA Food products. The third funding flexibly of $727,981 will be used by the OPI to purchase local products to aid in building a competitive, sustainable local food chain.
