Canyons nutrition director: reimbursements down but fund balance and savings measures keep student meals prices steady

Sebastian Varas, director of nutrition services for Canyons School District, told the board Sept. 16 that federal and state meal reimbursement rates have returned to pre‑COVID levels, prompting budget pressure but not immediate price increases for students.

Varas said the district built a healthy fund balance during the higher COVID reimbursement period and is drawing on that balance and cost‑saving measures to absorb higher food and labor costs. “We were operating under reimbursement rates, for COVID… And now they went back to pre COVID. Unfortunately, the cost of living didn’t go back to pre COVID,” Varas told the board.

Among cost‑saving steps, the nutrition department switched from disposable trays to washable household‑style trays, a move Varas said yields about $300,000 in annual savings. The department also delayed major equipment purchases this year after spending about $750,000 on kitchen equipment in the prior fiscal year.

Varas reported the district closed fiscal 2025 with roughly $233,000 in outstanding lunch debt; about $53,000 of that is tied to inactive students and is unlikely to be recovered. Private donations this year totaled about $26,000, he said.

Legislative and program updates: Varas described new state legislation, identified in the presentation as HP100, which covers the 40‑cent difference so students who previously qualified for reduced‑price lunches now get lunch fully covered by the state; the change does not extend to breakfast. The department is applying to the new state grant program to secure funds to offset the reduced‑price subsidy.

Varas said the district remains mindful of the Community Eligibility Provision (CEP) threshold that allows some schools to offer free meals to all students. He described how changes in the underlying data used to certify CEP status could alter school eligibility in coming years and warned that larger state‑level policy proposals to change CEP thresholds could affect participation and district finances.

On program operations, Varas said staffing is much improved: openings are minimal compared with several years ago. He also noted that the district now offers daycare employee meals at modest prices ($6 per caregiver for three meals) and charges adults $5 for a lunch and $3 for breakfast. He said the federal formula constrains how low the adult prices can be set.

Board members asked about the nutritional content of cereals and the revised product formulations for schools; Varas replied that products sold to school food programs are reformulated to meet school nutrition standards and that further changes are expected as federal nutrition regulation evolves.

Ending: Varas asked the board for continued support while the department applies for new state funds and monitors CEP and other federal‑program thresholds that could affect long‑term operations.

Speakers in this segment included Sebastian Varas and several board members and administrators who asked clarifying questions during the report.