Levy County school board approves switch to Ben E. Keith as food distributor

A district nutrition staff member identified in the meeting as Julia told the Levy County School Board the district will switch its main food distributor to Ben E. Keith and asked the board to authorize signatures on the contract and a 90‑day exit notice to the district's current group purchasing arrangement. The board moved, seconded and voted in favor of the request.

Julia said the district has been purchasing through a group purchasing organization (the Power Buying Group) and has relied on Sysco in the past, but that the group arrangement limited some products the district wants to offer. "The number one goal this year has been to secure food," she said, adding that some items students prefer were unavailable through the group contract. "Every kid loves spicy," she told the board when describing menu preferences and examples such as ramen-style products that other districts were testing.

The nutrition staff member said the district issued an RFP, submitted the documents to the Florida Department of Agriculture and Consumer Services (FDACS) for procurement review, and that an evaluation committee ranked the single respondent highly. The staff member said Ben E. Keith has a Gainesville warehouse that can supply produce from growers within roughly a two-hour radius and that can support will-call pick‑ups when the district needs items quickly.

On costs, Julia said Ben E. Keith's per-case pricing is in some cases lower and in some cases higher than current prices and that the distributor charges a fixed per-case fee that was about $0.25 higher per case than current pricing; she said the district would not be required to pay the Power Buying Group's annual fee (stated in the presentation as $4,500, with a current discount of $1,500). She said those savings would likely offset the per-case difference. The presenter also said deliveries from Ben E. Keith are planned to begin Aug. 7, with warehouse staging Aug. 8 and student service beginning Aug. 11.

When a board member asked whether the contract would change student meal prices, the presenter said the meal-pricing decision is separate and tied to the district's Community Eligibility Provision (CEP) determination, which staff were finalizing with April data.

The board approved the motion to accept the vendor, authorize signatures on the contract page, and send the 90‑day exit notice to the Power Buying Group. The motion was moved and seconded; the board voted in favor. No roll-call tally of individual votes was recorded in the meeting transcript.

The district's presentation materials and emails sent to FDACS were included in attachments to the board packet, the presenter said; staff will finalize the contract and the required exit notice following the board authorization.