Lebanon schools see jump in reimbursable meals; food-service changes add about $57,000 to budget

Lebanon City School District Superintendent Isaac Sievers said the district’s changes to school food service have increased participation and added roughly $57,000 in federal reimbursements for the 2024–25 first semester.

Sievers told the board that “reimbursable meals are up in the first semester 18,098 meals more than last year,” and that the district has seen an 11.8% increase in participation at Lebanon High School and a 45% increase in reimbursable meals at the high school compared with the previous year’s first semester.

The increase followed several operational changes Sievers described: hiring a dietitian as the food-service director to reduce outside contract costs; instituting cycle menus and “offer versus serve” across cafeterias so students can select fruits and vegetables; adding a salad bar and other entree options at the high school; moving many a la carte items to vending machines that accept school lunch accounts; and replacing older fryers and equipment to enable more “scratch cooking.” Sievers said the district is also conducting taste tests with junior-high students and has staff outreach efforts led by food-service staff Megan (food-service director) and Amy (field supervisor).

Nut graf: The district’s changes are intended to increase healthy choices and federal reimbursements that must be reinvested in the food-service program. Sievers said the added reimbursement is “completely self contained,” meaning the money can only be used in the food-service budget for items such as equipment and supplies.

Supporting details: Sievers explained that higher reimbursable-meal counts both require students to take fruit and vegetable options and produce higher reimbursements under the National School Lunch Program. He said the $57,000 is a 14% increase over last year in reimbursements and that the food-service fund must spend revenue on program needs — equipment, staffing related to food service, or food purchases — rather than being transferred to general operations.

Board members asked whether removing deep fryers changed insurance or risk exposure; Sievers said he did not believe insurance classifications changed materially and emphasized operational benefits and maintenance savings from newer equipment. He attributed increased participation in part to changed point-of-sale practices that make more meals eligible for federal reimbursement rather than a la carte sales.

Ending: Sievers said the additional funds will allow the district to buy needed equipment and noted continued monitoring; he invited board members to review participation data and cited staff and volunteer engagement — including taste-testing and classroom outreach — as part of the program’s improvement.