School meal prices at West Chicago Community High School have risen dramatically in recent years, impacting the entire student body. While administrators work to keep costs down, they must also ensure students receive healthy meals they enjoy.

Since the COVID-19 pandemic, prices of goods and services have been on the rise due to inflation and tariffs imposed on imported goods. These increases are now reaching students in high school, with cafeteria lunch prices rising drastically, according to data provided by Dan Oberg, Executive Director of Business Services.

The high school contracts with Quest, a non-government funded, for-profit company, to provide students with meals. District 94 pays Quest for its services, and the company supplies food and staffing. Quest accounts for nearly all food operations in the building, including free breakfast, the coffee bar, vending machines, and lunch bar meals. Administrators negotiate with Quest to balance pricing with school funding and the income levels of families.

Even with these efforts, many menu items have increased in price since just last year. Pizza slices, wraps, sandwiches, and nearly all of the coffee bar items now cost more. Over just the past four years, some items have doubled in price.

“The increase has definitely been there, and, unfortunately, that kind of goes back to Quest. They have to raise their prices so they can still run a business,” Oberg said.

During and after the pandemic, government funding allowed schools to provide free lunches for all students. One of the most popular menu items was the pizza slice, which now costs $3.50. The free meals ended after the 2022-23 school year, and now, only about half the student body qualifies for free or reduced lunch. Students who used to get lunches for free expressed frustration with the change.

“I used to qualify for the free school lunches, but then my dad made just enough income to not qualify for them anymore. Now [the cafeteria food] is way too expensive, so obviously I’m not gonna buy it,” senior Jacob Hayward said.

Along with the price increases, students have also noted a decline in quality over the past few years. Students with older relatives shared that the quality was higher back then, but after the pandemic, the quality took a significant hit.

From 2018 to 2020, lunch prices were still relatively high, but the student reports suggest portions were larger and quality was higher. This reflects the “shrinkflation” seen in the U.S. economy, where the prices of goods slowly increase while the portion sizes decrease.

West Chicago has contracted with Quest for more than 10 years. Every few years, administrators review the agreement to evaluate pricing, food quality, and service. Oberg said the district continues to prioritize what is best for students.

“We take a look at that to see what we think would best be for our students and our staff and the community as a whole,” Oberg said.