The Mehlville Board of Education voted unanimously June 29 to set meal prices for the 2023-2024 school year, in addition to approving universal free breakfast at three district elementary schools.
There were no changes to student meal prices this year from the prices the board set last year – the full-pay price of breakfast is $2, the elementary full-pay lunch price is $2.90, the secondary full-pay lunch price is $3 and premium meals are $3.25. The reduced price of breakfast is 30 cents and the reduced lunch price is 40 cents. The only price change from last year was an increase in adult lunch meal prices, now $4.20, a 10-cent increase from last school year. Adult breakfast remains at $3.
The board also approved universal free breakfast at Beasley, Bierbaum and Forder elementary schools for the upcoming school year.
A universal free breakfast program is a complete breakfast available at no cost to all students, with meals claimed for federal reimbursement according to income category: free, reduced or full pay.
Reimbursement rates to the district per meal are $2.67 for free, $2.37 for reduced and 50 cents for full pay.
Mehlville launched a universal free breakfast program at Beasley in 2017, and expanded the program to Forder in 2019. Bierbaum was added in October 2022. According to Food and Nutrition Director Katie Gegg, breakfast participation at those schools increased by about 20%.
The board also approved bids for food vendors June 29. The nutrition department sends out bids in six different areas: branded pizza, bread products, ice cream, milk, produce and a prime vendor.
The board approved a $8,255-a-week bid for pizza from Domino’s, a $13,800 bid for ice cream from North Star, a $14,675 produce bid from Jackson Produce, and a $2,184,732 prime vendor bid from Kohl Wholesale.
The district opted to go with an “escalating” bid for milk from Prairie Farms, meaning the price the district pays each month could vary depending on raw milk costs. The estimated cost is $265,861.
Additionally, the department plans to purchase frozen bread products through the prime vendor, rather than going with one of the two bread vendors who bid. Gegg recommended this decision because going through Kohl for frozen bread products is $26,000 cheaper than going with either one of the bids for fresh bread, which were $137,304 and $140,760 from Bimbo and Jackson Produce, respectively.
