Waterford — The price of lunch is going up.

Next year, school breakfast, lunch and adult meal prices will increase by 25 cents and the price of milk will increase by 10 cents when purchased separately.

Members of the Board of Education on Thursday unanimously approved the increases, which they said are necessary to keep the district in compliance with the Healthy Hunger-Free Kids Act.

Lunch prices will increase to $2.50 for elementary school students and $2.75 for middle and high school students. Milk will now cost $0.60 when purchased by itself.

Lunch prices have been raised once in the last nine years, Interim Director of Finance and Operations Phil Russell said at the meeting.

Superintendent of Schools Jerome Belair said the town’s school lunch, breakfast and adult meal prices fall significantly below the amount that the federal National School Lunch program reimburses for students that receive free lunches.

Waterford’s lunch prices hold steady with the state average, Belair said, while Watertown — another school district within the town’s District Reference Group — for instance, charges $3.25 for middle and high school lunches.

j.hanckel@theday.com