Food Supply and Costs
The national issues related to food supply and cost continues to influence our school nutrition programs.
The food manufacturing and distributing industry is enduring the same challenges other industries are facing, including staffing and labor shortages, and rising costs of materials and transportation.
As a result, the Office of Food and Nutrition is continuing to feel the effects of the disruption to the supply chain in the following manner:
- Product shortages resulting in using different products at different schools
- Product cancellations resulting in last-minute menu changes
- Manufacturers suspending production on menu favorites resulting in serving less popular menu items
- Late trucks arriving at JP resulting in expediting issues to our schools
- Poor quality of fresh fruits and vegetables
We all know access to consistent nutritious meals is fundamentally important to students as they learn and grow. We will continually work together as a district to navigate these challenges for the foreseeable future. Thank you for everything you do on behalf of our school community.
Menu Planning
With persistent staffing and supply chain issues we will start operation in the same fashion as last year with hopes to return to a full menu in our High Schools as soon as practical.
Internal Catering
The Food Service Department is continuing with the suspension of all internal catering until further notice. Due to ongoing staffing shortages and supply chain interruptions, we need to focus on supplying meals to our students.
The Office of Food & Nutrition will evaluate and monitor our needs through the second marking period with the target of starting internal catering again on or before January 17, 2023.
Please reach out to the Food Service Department with any questions or concerns.