Park County School District is raising the price of meals and milk ahead of the 2026-2027 school year, citing rising costs associated with food supplies, employee wages and equipment maintenance.

Mary Jo Lewis, the district’s business services coordinator, spoke to the school board last Wednesday regarding the situation with food services.

Lewis discussed how the nutrition fund absorbed a $150,000 loss last year — a first in her 26 years with the department — but was largely offset by stable participation from affiliated schools and the replacement of a $70,000 walk-in freezer.

“We still have cash, we don’t need to take any money out of the general fund and supplement our food service program.” Lewis told the board. “We’re just getting to the point where everything is costing.”

The meal price increases impact both breakfast and lunch services throughout the schools. Breakfast costs for all students are being raised by 15 cents and adults by 50 cents, raising prices to $2.50 per meal for elementary students, $2.75 for middle and high school students, and $3.50 for adults.

Lunch, on the other hand, is seeing a steeper increase, with student costs being raised by 25 cents and 75 cents for adults, bringing the cost to $4 for elementary students, $4.25 for middle and high school students, and $6 for adults.

While milk is included in the meal bundle, these price increases also impact the price of additional milk by 10 cents. Due to an escalation clause in the cooperative bid agreement, milk prices are subject to supplier pricing increases. This coincides with an over 3% increase in food costs, up from 2.5% last year and the year prior.

Rising meal costs have been a consistent theme since the 2022-2023 school year following a six year period where prices remained unchanged. Last year, breakfast prices were increased by 10 cents for students and lunch prices increased by 15 cents and 25 cents for students and adults, respectively.

Despite price increases, reduced-price meal rates set by the Department of Agriculture remain set at 30 cents for breakfast and 40 cents for lunch for families who qualify.

For more information on how to qualify for free or reduced price meals, visit Park County School District 1’s food services section at www.pcsd1.org/page/food-services.