Pricier school lunches for overseas military kids are angering parents

Parents of students attending overseas Defense Department schools are protesting an increase in the price of lunches served at the facilities, which they say have stagnated in quality, according to a report by Military.com.

For the first time since 2012, overseas Defense Department schools will raise their lunch prices to be comparable with facilities in the mainland United States. The  price will increase 10 cents per meal for elementary students and 20 cents per meal for secondary-school students during the 2016-17 school year. The increases total approximately $20 for elementary and $35 for secondary students over a school year.

The rates affect all overseas locations, excluding schools in Guam and students qualifying for free and reduced-price meals. 

Parents of some students say they will stop buying the lunches because of the higher prices. Leigh Wanczowski, an Army wife stationed in Germany, told Military.com that she can pack healthier, larger portioned meals for her two elementary school children at a similar cost.

“It was already an issue for our family last year when my kids complained about being hungry or not being able to stomach a fish stick,” she said. “Some days I saw the main entree in their lunch to be bread, a transparently slim slice of poor-quality lunch meat and a packet of mustard. Certainly I can provide that for the same price, and maybe even add lettuce and cheese.”

Meal providers for Defense Department schools are legally required to raise prices in tandem with the USDA. Though USDA rates increase yearly, Defense Department schools have resisted price increases since 2012.