Of North Carolina’s 115 school districts, 67 are losing money on their nutrition programs, with 45 in especial financial duress, reports the Raleigh News & Observer. The main driver seems to be a 2006 state legislative mandate that required districts to increase the amount of healthier choices such as fresh produce and whole grains while reducing the number of choices high in fat and sugar, all without providing extra funding.
The report notes that North Carolina school food programs spent a collective $683 million in the 2008 school year and lost $28 million because federal and state subsidies, combined with cash sales, could not keep up with costs, especially “indirect costs” owed to districts for things like utilities and janitorial services. Indirect costs account for about nine percent of school nutrition program expenditures statewide, according to the analysis.