Dartmouth students and families can expect increased luncheon costs for the 2016-2017 school year.

Dartmouth School Committee members unanimously approved the increase on July 11, after School Business Administrator James Kiely explained that average costs have to reflect a federal projection in order to maintain government subsidies.

The idea is to make sure that the federal government is not subsidizing lunch for kids who don’t need it, explained Kiely. The program falls under the United States Department of Agriculture’s Healthy Hunger-Free Kids Act.

The USDA expects the average lunch to cost $2.78 for the 2016-2017 school year, and the average lunch at Dartmouth schools currently costs $2.63, said Kiely.

He suggested raising the elementary school lunches from the current $2.50 price point to $2.75, and middle and high school lunches from $2.80 to $3.00, which averages to a $2.86 lunch.

“Hopefully this will prevent an increase until 2019, unless another president has a different idea of 'healthy,'” said Kiely.

Kiely said the average elementary school lunch costs $2.60 in this region; the average high school lunch costs $2.90. However, he said, those school committees will be doing the same thing the Dartmouth School Committee is doing… raising their costs.

The $2.78 mandate is calculated according to the cost of living and the consumer price index, said Kiely.

“Parents are reaching deeper into their pockets,” said School Committee member Christopher Garth, adding that if the School Committee needs to raise prices again two years from now, it needs to have a conversation about the quality of the food schools serve.