At the Sept. 8 Westerville City Schools board meeting, the district's food services staff summarized operations, federal compliance, local sourcing efforts and recent equipment upgrades.

The presenter, introduced as Mr. Kessler, said the department served 1,788,844 meals last year across 23 buildings and employs 106 staff, 41 of whom have advanced training in food safety. He said the food services operation is self-sustaining: federal reimbursements and program sales cover expenses rather than the district general fund.

Kessler briefed the board on federal meal requirements and local practices: meals comply with U.S. Department of Agriculture (USDA) and National School Lunch and Breakfast Program patterns; the district follows "offer versus serve" rules that require offering all meal components while allowing students to decline certain items; and beginning July 1, 2025, added-sugar limits took effect for certain breakfast items (cereal, yogurt and flavored milk).

He described Farm-to-School activities and local purchases, including apples and other fruit from Baumann Orchard and ongoing work with Westerville North High School's garden. The department participated in state summer and fall farm-to-school events and reported winning a silver-bead award for summer participation.

Kessler said the department underwent an administrative review, a procurement review and a resource-management review; all were closed with no violations and the administrative review included a commendation for organized paperwork and menu variety. He also described recent kitchen upgrades paid for from the food service account (not the general fund): examples cited were new hot/cold wells at Hamby, a steamer and upgraded exhaust hoods at Hawthorne, two combi ovens and a walk-in cooler at Whittier, and larger freezer units for Wilder and Hawthorne to support more on-site cooking.

On distribution, Kessler described a satellite model: many elementary meals are cooked at central kitchens (South High School or Central High School), loaded into hot or cold carts, and shipped to buildings; the district is adding equipment to some elementary sites so more cooking can be done on-site to improve food quality. He noted the department offers alternate meals (gluten-free, egg-free, dairy-free, soy-free) and uses nutrition-calculator tools to ensure a la carte items meet nutrition standards.

Board members asked about procurement equity and how new menu items are selected. Kessler said procurement reviews analyzed vendor transactions and that menu rotation decisions are based on sales data, vendor demonstrations and taste tests; coordinators now help with more systematic taste-testing in schools. He also explained multiple ways families can add funds to student accounts (PaySchools, check, cash) and that weekly balance notifications are sent for negative balances.

Why this matters: the report outlines the scale of the district's meal program, federal compliance and local sourcing efforts, and near-term equipment investments that aim to improve meal quality and service efficiency.

No action was taken; the presentation was informational.