Manatee schools to raise some meal prices as nutrition staff warn shrinking federal reimbursements constrain sourcing

Manatee County School Board members on May 12 received a detailed briefing from Food & Nutrition Services that explained how federal rules, commodity contracts and rising costs are reshaping what the district can serve to students.

Regina Toma, the district's executive director of student services leading the presentation, said the program serves roughly 17,000 breakfasts and 29,000 lunches daily (about 8.8 million meals annually when charters and summer programs are included). She told the board the department is self-funded through federal and state child-nutrition programs and does not rely on general‑fund dollars for operations.

The most immediate pressure, Toma said, comes from shifts in USDA reimbursement and new implementation of the "Buy American"/by‑American cap. "USDA raised reimbursements during COVID, then reduced them as prices moderated," she said, and "the by‑American provision now caps non‑domestic purchases at 10% and will further reduce to 7% and 5% in later steps," requiring the department to track and justify many purchases.

The rules affect how commodity funds are used, Toma and student-nutrition supervisor Sky Grundy explained. USDA provides a "bank of funds" for commodity purchases that districts may use to buy raw products (the district expects to process about 1.3 million pounds of commodity products this year). Those commodity products are processed by USDA‑approved vendors through national bids; as a result, "commodity strawberries are often sourced through the national bid process and not from Florida growers," Toma said. That prompted board members to press staff about whether the district can increase purchases from local producers when seasonality and vendor certification allow it.

The department highlighted local partnerships and hands‑on programs designed to increase Florida sourcing where feasible. Toma said a two‑year USDA farm‑to‑school grant (about $30,000) funded new school gardens at four elementary campuses and that the district partnered with farm RC Hatton to supply canned corn and green beans processed for school use; those local arrangements can be scaled only when farmers can meet the district's large, regular volumes.

Grundy described nutrition education and school-garden work that yielded produce used in cafeterias: "We grew lettuce that Brain River High could use on its salad station," she said, and added that the department plans to pursue more partnerships with FFA and other local producers when procurement rules permit.

Summer meals were also a major focus. The district runs a 74‑site summer program that serves roughly 200,000 meals each summer and has expanded mobile units and non‑congregate options in rural areas so families can take meals home on designated days, staff said.

Operations changes were announced: the board previously approved a new food distributor — Cisco Foods — which staff said reduced per‑case costs versus the prior contract and will take over warehousing and deliveries (districtwide deliveries total roughly 12,000 cases weekly). The board also heard that Anthony Anastasis will start June 1 as the district's new director of food and nutrition services; staff said he joins the district from Pinellas County (transcript initially listed a misspelling).

After the presentation the board voted on the consent agenda, which included a meal‑price adjustment. Superintendent Brereslin told the board the price changes were approved on the consent agenda and will be communicated to families; the presentation did not include the new price amounts.

Why it matters: The combination of lower reimbursements, stricter domestic‑sourcing caps and complex reporting requirements can force districts to weigh local purchasing against federal accounting rules. Manatee's food service leaders said they remain in a sound financial position but will continue to adjust menus and vendor choices to meet both meal quality goals and compliance demands.

What's next: Staff will continue farm‑to‑school outreach, prepare for the USDA administrative review set for the fall, and communicate the board‑approved meal‑price change to families as required.