Title: Food Prices Eat Up School Lunch - TIME
Headings: Food Prices Eat Up School Lunch
Food Prices Eat Up School Lunch
Content: A serving of whole-grain bread, for instance, can cost as much as six cents more than a slice of white bread. Higher prices are also calling into question one of the staples of kiddie cafeterias. " Do we have to really offer milk with every breakfast and every lunch we serve?" Pavel Matustik, who runs nutrition programs for five school districts in southern California, asked during his testimony before Congress Wednesday. For every penny the price of milk goes up, he added, the cost of preparing school meals increases $54 million nationally. Many schools will try to pass along some of the cost increases to families already grappling with higher grocery bills. An additional 1.5 million Americans were receiving food stamps in March compared to a year earlier, according to the USDA. Meanwhile, America's Second Harvest, the nation's largest food-bank network, reported a 20% increase in the number of people seeking food aid this spring compared to a year ago. And this summer more parents have signed their kids up for camps that make use of free lunch programs. " More and more children are coming to child care hungry," said Paula James, director of the Contra Costa Child Care Council in California.