Pending school board approval, the new plan would raise breakfast by 50 cents. Lunch would go from $2.75 to $3.50 in elementary schools and $3 to 3.75 in middle and high schools.
The cost jumps come as the state education department is requiring school districts with a deficit in the Child Nutrition Program to raise their prices.
"We are being compelled to increase prices," FCPS Chief Operating Officer Myron Thompson said Thursday. "We have not raised prices since 2022-2023 and it's been challenging, but we have heard the board's charge that we want to make sure that we can continue to take care of families. So that's what we have been focusing on."
Thompson stressed that the cost increase — which was floated during a community budget workgroup last year as a possible method to help plug a budget gap — is not meant to be a revenue generator.
"Our intent here is only to break even. This is not to make money. It's only to shore up the operational losses that we have been sustaining," he added. "So we have worked with our 16th District PTA to make them aware of this. They understand the need to do this. They will be our partners in terms of reaching out to families to make sure that we get communications out because we don't want any child to go hungry."
The changes would take effect in the 2026-2027 school year. Families who need extra support can find resources through the MySchoolsApp website.