1-Color
March 20, 2014
75 cents Arapahoe County, Colorado | Volume 125, Issue 34 A publication of
littletonindependent.net
School lunch prices to rise
CONTINENTAL DIVIDE
But better quality will make them worth it, say LPS officials By Jennifer Smith
jsmith@coloradocommunitymedia.com
Rob Sublette, left, battles a ThunderRidge defender as he pushes the attack for Heritage during the March 12 Continental League lacrosse contest at Shea Stadium. The Eagles scored four goals in the first period and went on to win the game, 10-5. For more coverage, turn to Page 21. Photo by Tom Munds
When the walls come tumblin’ down King Soopers will rise again on Littleton Boulevard By Jennifer Smith
jsmith@coloradocommunitymedia.com The back of the 74,000-square-foot King Soopers building at Littleton Boulevard was being reduced to a pile of rubble March 10, after having closed its doors for good on Jan. 31. It will be about a year before residents will be able to visit its replacement, which will be similar to the new one at Federal Boulevard and Belleview Avenue and include a drive-through pharmacy on the west side, two front entrances on the east, a resurfaced and realigned parking lot and a Starbucks kiosk inside. The current Starbucks in the outlying northern building will stay; that building and the southern one with the new Mattress Firm will remain but get moderate facelifts, said Eric Chekal, senior project manager at Regency Centers, which owns the site. In the meantime, shoppers who don’t drive can catch RTD’s 0 bus on the southwest corner in front of the store. It goes south to Mineral Avenue and Broadway, where there is another King Soopers and a Safeway. It runs every half hour from 4:49 a.m. to 2:20 a.m., and there is a charge of $2.25 each way for the 10-minute trip. Littleton residents who are disabled or 55 and older can utilize the city’s free ShopPOSTAL ADDRESS
A view of the back of King Soopers at Littleton Boulevard and Broadway on March 10, with demolition well underway. Photo by Jennifer Smith ping Cart or Omnibus program. The Omnibus picks up passengers at Wells Fargo Bank, 5601 S. Broadway, on Wednesdays at 9 a.m. and returns them at 11 a.m.; or on Fridays with a noon pickup and 2 p.m. return. The Shopping Cart will provide service to the Mineral King Soopers during construction, as well. Call 303-795-3700 or visit www.littletongov.org for a detailed schedule and other information.
Once the new store opens, those who walk there should find it easier to do so, with improvements like footpaths into the site from all directions and widened adjacent public sidewalks. And while there will be about 30 fewer parking spaces, the lanes will provide for two-way traffic. There will also be parking for 27 bicycles, and a pull-in lane for the Omnibus and Shopping Cart.
LITTLETON INDEPENDENT
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Littleton Public Schools officials appear likely to raise meal prices by 20 cents or more in May, but they want the public to know about a tangled web of reasons why. Diane Doney, LPS chief operations officer, laid it out succinctly: “It’s much more expensive to serve nutritionally dense food.” In 2010, the federal government implemented the Healthy, Hunger-Free Kids Act. Starting this year, it requires school districts to give every child a half-cup serving of fruit with lunch, regardless of whether they want it or eat it. Next year, that requirement will apply to breakfast, as well. “That alone could mean a $200,000 increase to our food costs,” said Paula Buser, the district’s new director of nutrition services. She brought in two registered dieticians to help the schools implement all of the new requirements. Five schools are getting new food-service stations this summer to help get the ball rolling. They will more closely resemble salad bars than serving lines, and will let kids choose from among five items, of which one must be fruit. “We want to provide healthier choices, but that doesn’t necessarily mean more choices,” said Buser. The act also requires districts to ensure the federally supported free and reducedprice program doesn’t carry the entire meal program financially. LPS sells substantially fewer subsidized lunches than the national average, so it needs to either increase the price of the paid lunches or get a lot more kids to eat them, or both. Buser said programs in districts with a higher rate of subsidized meals are actually more financially sound, because there is higher participation overall. “Parents need to realize there’s no stigma regarding free and reduced lunches,” said Doney, noting that money for many special programs depends on those numbers. Buser is proposing a 20-cent hike to all meals except for high school lunches, which would go up a dime, though the federal regulations require a minimum of just 10 cents. That means lunch at elementary schools would rise from $2.40 to $2.60. Lucie Stanish, LPS board president, owns Downtown Dinners, a meal-preparation retail outlet in Littleton. She said she’s well aware of the rising cost of food. “I’m really questioning whether we’re raising it enough,” she said. “I would like for us to be realistic about what it really costs.”
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