MCPS considers lunch price hike as student meal debt hits all-time high
While Montgomery County, Maryland, is one of the wealthiest counties in the nation, it has more students receiving free or reduced‑price lunches than D.C. has students overall.
The numbers are eye-opening. During the 2023 to 2024 school year, MCPS counted more than 70,000 students in the free or reduced‑price meal program, compared with roughly 51,000 students enrolled in D.C. public schools.
“That’s uncomfortable for some folks in Montgomery County to acknowledge,” said Dr. Thomas Taylor, superintendent of Montgomery County Public Schools.
Taylor said the official numbers may not tell the full story.
“There’s a huge percentage of families that could qualify but don’t take advantage of it for various reasons,” Taylor added.
“You have a number of students in between the free-lunch program and paying full price,” Taylor said. “Candidly, they accumulate debt over time because they can’t afford to pay it.”
To deal with MCPS’s $1.2 million in unpaid student meal debt, the Dine with Dignity campaign was launched.
“Food insecurity is very real in our country and our state, and it is real here in Montgomery County,” Taylor said. “We’ve had generous donations from DARCARS.”
Taylor said that the Darvish family, who owns the Silver Spring-based dealership group, donated $250,000 to help offset meal debt.
“We’re really making this a mission for philanthropic support to help get Montgomery County students fed and supported,” Taylor said.
As MCPS attempts to pay down the debt, The Banner reports officials are considering raising the price of school lunches, beginning with a 30 cent increase next year, due to rising food prices and labor costs.
Talia Richman, an education reporter for The Banner, told WTOP that school officials have said that students qualifying for free or reduced lunch would not be affected.
“The district says, if we don’t do this, there could be real consequences. They might have lower quality meals,” Richman said. “The wait times for meals might be longer. They might have to get rid of breakfast at some campuses.”