Elementary lunch goes from $2.90 to $3.15 and secondary lunch from $3 to $3.25 for 2026-27; free and reduced rates are unchanged. Online meal payments remain shut off, so families must deposit money by cash or check until a contract returns to the committee.
The Smithfield School Committee voted Thursday, August 20, to raise school lunch prices by 25 cents, a decision that arrived alongside an unbudgeted $9,500-a-year fee the district says it would need to pay to restore online meal payments for families.
Under the option approved by voice vote, elementary lunch rises from $2.90 to $3.15 and secondary lunch rises from $3 to $3.25, according to the pricing figures presented during the meeting. Secondary breakfast goes to 75 cents. Reduced-price rates are unchanged in both options that were presented, and, as a district official noted, students who qualify for free meals are still charged nothing…