Not only is inflation affecting us, but it is also affecting school districts as well.

Record high inflation is forcing menu changes at Harlingen Consolidated Independent School District.

The district says the cost of food has gone up around 10 to 15 percent.

It’s an issue that first began at the start of the pandemic, but it’s been getting worse since then.

"An example would be we received some strawberries and we saw 60 percent increase in price on those strawberries,” Register Dietician Nutrition Coordinator Amanda Resendez said.

The district is finding ways around the problem.

“Normally when we substitute foods we tend to keep the food the same, such as pizza, but we'll look for an alternate that might just be more cost-effective,” Resendez said.

Some of their regular food items are being substituted.

"With that shortage what we've decided to do was substitute out with another similar product, the cherry blossom, taste testing it with our students first, and it went over incredibly well,” Resendez said.

With the price of bread, meat, vegetables, and fruit all going up, the commissioner for the state’s agriculture department is encouraging school districts to buy local whenever possible.

"Not only is it fresher and better, but it's savings at about 15 to 20 percent to the school,” Texas Department of Agriculture Commissioner Sid Miller said.

Harlingen CISD is working to adjust their annual budget for food to account for inflation; they plan to increase the budget anywhere from 10 to 15 percent.

For parents like Claudia Duarte, whose son attend Harlingen High School and relies on free breakfast and lunches, can cause some relief.

"I feel good because it's a lot of help,” Duarte said. “Yes, everything is going up, not just the food, but with the school it's good because they're in school all day."

Duarte hopes the district will continue to find ways to balance the costs.

"We work together as a team to find solutions for both the rising costs of food and food shortages as well,” Resendez said.