Increased food costs forcing some Upper Cumberland school districts to look for innovative ways to stay within budget.
Cumberland County’s School Nutrition Director Kathy Hamby said, in her 20 years, she has never seen such drastic price increases.To make up for these increases Hamby said they chose to postpone new equipment purchases.
“We are just finding creative ways within our maintenance department of repairing equipment, to limp it along until we can find a way with maybe a grant or some other way to cover some of that costs,” Hamby said.
Hamby said food costs increased 20 percent in just one year. Overton County, School Nutrition Director Debie Taylor said she has made strategic cuts to save money.
“We have to be very careful about what we spend our money on, such as disposables, that’s literally money thrown in the trash can,” Taylor said. “So we have eliminated that and they have gone back to trays.”
Taylor said the district saves close to 90-thousand a year by just washing trays.
School meals are mostly funded by a Federal Program which pays the schools a certain amount for each meal served. Both Hamby and Taylor said the program is not keeping up with the rise in food costs.
Hamby said they are also postponing several cafeteria and dining room renovations.
