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MCPS proposes multi-year meal price increases as food and labor costs outpace revenue
Summary
The MCPS food services department proposed phased meal-price increases (30¢ in FY27 and FY28, 35¢ in FY29) to cover rising food and labor costs for its enterprise fund, while emphasizing protections for students who receive free meals and asking the board to explore alternative revenue or county support.
Montgomery County Public Schools’ director of Food and Nutrition Services, Liz Leach, presented a three-year meal-price proposal on April 16 to address a growing deficit in the department’s enterprise fund driven by rising food and labor costs.
Leach said DFNS serves more than 18 million meals annually and has operated at a loss in recent years after pandemic-era funding and reimbursements were exhausted. The department recommended raising meal prices by 30¢ in both FY27 and FY28 and by 35¢ in FY29, with a subsequent three-year reassessment. Leach stressed that the proposed increases would not affect students who qualify for free meals under federal or state programs and that the district will continue to maximize community-eligibility provisions (CEP) and other reimbursements to limit family impact.
Board members asked whether the superintendent or district had discussed offsetting revenue with Montgomery County government and urged staff to identify alternatives to shifting costs to families, noting many families fall just outside federal eligibility thresholds. Trustee comments emphasized the tension between ensuring food-service solvency and affordability for families that do not qualify for free meals but still face economic stress.
Leach detailed that half of DFNS expenses are labor and roughly 40 percent are food cost; since the last meal-price increase in 2015, many input costs — eggs, chicken, bread — rose sharply and staffing wages increased substantially. She noted that without added revenue the enterprise fund would be forced to reduce staff, reduce service or cut programs.
Next steps: staff will continue to develop the proposal and return with details, and the board asked the superintendent and DFNS to pursue additional outreach, clarify protections and hardship options, and continue exploring county or state assistance to limit family burden.
