LOUIS — Stacey Smith, child nutrition services supervisor for the Cape Henlopen School District, has written her own job description that is more concise than the one in the employee handbook.
“My job is to feed the children of Cape Henlopen, whatever the cost,” she said.
And that focus has now shifted, as children in the school district were on summer break early last week.
In May, Cape County schools served more than 84,400 lunches and 30,400 breakfasts to students.
And while this routine of two meals and snacks continued through September, Smith’s summer program began.
“After school is out, we provide one meal a day at Lewis Elementary, Sussex Consortium and Cape Henlopen High School, Monday through Thursday, probably around lunchtime,” she explained.
These are typical school lunches served during the school year.
And on weekends, Smith said, the district is partnering with the Delaware Food Bank’s backpack program to provide food that can be stored for several days.
But there are challenges, including rising food prices.
“Case prices of food have gone up by $20 to $40, which can be surprising. We’ve been evaluating our food even more since coming back from the COVID-19 chaos,” Smith said. “We were hoping things would calm down, but we were looking for alternatives.”
Her budget, like any other fixed income, is set annually and she receives about $175,000 a month to feed children in her community, but as everyone is aware, food prices keep rising, yet her budget remains the same.
Perhaps that will become more clear in the 2024-25 fiscal year, after operating budget increases that could have helped alleviate those issues were recently rejected twice by area voters.
“The best example these days is cereal. There are so many options, but not all of them are kids’ favorites,” she said.
School districts must also address dietary requirements, regardless of cost.
“(The district) follows MyPlate guidelines and National School Lunch Meal Pattern requirements. We have to keep calories, sugar and salt within certain ranges and provide certain food components each week, such as red vegetables, dark green vegetables, starches, legumes and whole grains,” she noted.
To help cover these costs, there are fees for providing school meals. The district charges $1.25 for breakfast and lunch in elementary schools and $1.50 for middle and high schools. If an adult is present at school and eats lunch with the students, they are charged $4.75.
But that’s not enough to make ends meet.
“One of our challenges is getting people to sign up for free or reduced meals. We have a web-based form that is completely anonymous. When students get in line, they put in their number just like every other student, and no one knows anything,” she said.
This is important because every child in Cape Town is eligible for the program and schools are reimbursed for the cost of these meals at a higher percentage than the base fee.
“Anyone can apply, and we want everyone to apply because it helps them avoid high debt and allows them to use the higher compensation to get more produce, fruits and vegetables,” she said.
Smith said the district has 6,802 students, but just under 20 percent — 1,108 — are on reduced-price lunch plans, leaving the district and its families with more than $55,000 in lunch debt.
Additionally, she said she is monitoring House Alternative 2 to House Bill 125, which was approved by the state Senate last week and is currently being considered in the House. If passed, the bill would provide free breakfast and lunch at school to students who qualify for the federal reduced-price school lunch program.
To apply for Cape’s discounted meal plan, visit capehenlopenschoolmenus.com. The application period for the 2024-25 school year opens July 1.
