Salt Lake City school meals may be getting more expensive. Here’s how much prices could rise.

The Salt Lake City School District is considering raising the prices of school meals this fall, for the first time in 14 years, as its child nutrition fund faces a seven-figure deficit.

District officials say the shortfall is largely driven by rising labor and food costs. Also, “the revenue coming from the federal government’s not keeping up with high costs we’re facing today,” Kelly Orton, the district’s child nutrition director, told board members during their regular meeting Tuesday.

Federal funding accounted for about $8.5 million of the district’s roughly $12 million in school meal revenue for fiscal year 2025, said Alan Kearsley, the district’s business administrator. Another $1.8 million came from the state, he said, while the rest came from meal sales.

However, total expenditures last year topped around $14 million, putting the child nutrition fund in the red, Kearlsey said. Under federal law, districts operating at a deficit must raise school meal prices to remain eligible for federal reimbursement, he said.

The district has not run a deficit since it last raised meal prices in 2012. In recent years, however, reserves have been steadily depleting.

What are the proposed increases?

Under the proposal, school meal prices could increase between 50 cents to $1.25 per meal, depending on whether a student is in elementary, middle or high school.

Elementary school lunches, for instance, would rise from $2.00 to $2.50. For families, that could mean paying about $90 more per child annually, assuming a student purchases lunch every school day.

The proposed increases are expected to generate about $600,000 in additional revenue, but it’s not enough to fully close the gap, Kearsley said.

“It is not expected that this increase to paid lunches will solve the deficit,” Kearsley told the board during Tuesday’s meeting. “It’s just one tool we’re looking at to help.”

Board members on Tuesday signaled reluctant support for the price increases.

“No one wants to raise the fees,” Board member Ashley Anderson said, but added that there’s “no other alternative. … We can’t reduce the expenditures, we can’t pay our employees less, and we can’t make food costs less."

Limited impact on free and reduced lunches

Fewer than half of the district’s students qualify for free or reduced-price meals, according to state data. The district covers the cost of reduced-price lunches, and that policy would remain in place if prices increase.

However, those students would still pay for additional entrees or side items — and the costs for those items also are expected to rise.

Of the 1.8 million lunches served in fiscal year 2025, about 635,000 were paid meals, while the remaining 1.09 million were free or reduced-price meals that generated no direct revenue for the district, Kearsley said.

The district expects to recoup a small portion of those costs under HB100, a state law that took effect last July, requiring the state to reimburse school districts for certain reduced-price meals.

“Every little bit helps,” Kearsley said.

Lunch debt ask

Board members on Tuesday also raised concerns about unpaid meal balances, urging families to keep accounts current to avoid adding further strain to the program.

“A lot of the nonpayment is happening … among parents who do have the means to pay and do not pay,” Anderson said.

When students carry unpaid lunch debt, the district must absorb those costs, officials said, because “bad debt” cannot be paid using federal funds.

The school board is expected to vote on the proposal at its meeting next month, though members said they are open to further discussion if people in the community want to give their input.