Budget Cuts May Nix District's Hot Lunch Program

The Burlingame (CA) School District may decide to discontinue hot student meals when its nutrition services contract with Chartwells expires next year, reports the San Francisco Examiner. The six-school K-8 district decided to add hot lunches four years ago after serving only sack lunches to students qualifying for free or reduced price meals. The district invested about $500,000 to upgrade the school kitchens and commited extra money from the general fund to subsidize the program since federal and state reimbursements do not cover the costs.

However, recent significant state budget cuts—on top of a million in cuts the previous two years—have forced the district to re-evaluate. The hot meals, which cost $3.75 for cash students, include such selections as lasagna, baked chicken breasts with rice pilaf, turkey hot dogs with barbecue beans and crunchy tacos with Spanish rice.