Lunch prices at many overseas schools will next year go up yet again as officials look to keep pace with rising operation costs, they announced this week.
Right now school lunches cost $2.75 and $3.00 at elementary and secondary school cafeterias overseas managed by the Army and Air Force Exchange Service. That's up from the $2.40 and $2.55 that had been in place from 2012 to 2016.
Now those prices will increase to $3 and $3.25 respectively, officials said in a news release.
Free and Reduced Meal Program lunches will not see an increase, they said.
Officials said raising the lunch price puts them in compliance with federal law, which requires that it be adjusted based on a U.S. Department of Agriculture index. But that law has long existed, and AAFES officials pretty much ignored it from 2012 to 2016.
AAFES noted in a release that even with the price increase, the current fee represents a sizable meal subsidy. The actual cost to AAFES is an average $5.25 per plate, they said. The Defense Education Activity and the USDA reimburse the Exchange for the loss they take on the lunches.
AAFES provides 2.6 million lunches to kids at 78 DoDEA schools in Europe and the Pacific, the release said.
Oh, and remember: if your child hates that food, they can blame these other kids.
