During Thursday’s special Board of Education meeting, the members approved a 10-cent hike on all lunches served on Saipan and a 15-cent hike for Rota and Tinian schools.
But students will continue to pay 75 cents for lunch.
PSS federal programs officer Tim Thornburgh, in an interview, said the additional payments to the vendors will come from the new federal grant from the U.S. Department of Agriculture amounting to $7.7 million for FY 2009.
Currently, PSS food vendors are being paid $2.75 for each lunch they deliver to the 20 public schools.
Starting Oct. 1, they will be paid $2.85 per lunch while Rota and Tinian vendors will get $3.
BOE Chairwoman Lucy Blanco-Maratita told Variety that although the price increase is minimal it can help PSS food vendors.
The vendors earlier indicated that they would request for an increase in the prices of the school meals.
Blanco-Maratita described it as “reasonable request” especially in light of the increases in the price of commodities, energy, fuel and labor costs.
PSS at the same time has reduced the menu choices for its students’ breakfast meals.
“From a two-choice menu for breakfast, our vendors now will offer only one choice,” Thornburgh said. “We didn’t change the rate for the breakfast but we reduced the menu choices…in this way, we can help the vendors control their price costs.”
Among the school system’s food vendors are Barny’s Pizza, Kalayaan, Aunti Mag’s, MV Reyes Catering and LSG.
