Get Full Government Meeting Transcripts, Videos, & Alerts Forever!
Get email alerts on the Food Service Contract topic
No spam. Unsubscribe anytime.
Burke County Schools staff recommends Chartwells as food-service provider; contract, wage and Navigate training proposed for board action
Summary
After an RFP and committee review, staff recommended renewing with Chartwells under a five-year contract (renewable annually) that increases per-meal mill-equivalent, guarantees $400,000 annual return, raises minimum wages for Chartwells employees and includes a 12-week Navigate career program and increased food-truck and coffee offerings.
Food-service director Mr. Wall and a Chartwells representative, Aaron, summarized the RFP process and the recommended contract for the board.
Mr. Wall said the district’s five-year Chartwells contract is coming to an end and the district issued an RFP beginning in September; four companies attended the pre-bid meeting and submitted proposals. A nine-person committee scored presentations and recommended continuing with Chartwells under a new five-year contract that the presenter described as renewable each year. The presenter asked the board to place the proposed contract on the action agenda for the next board meeting.
Contract financial highlights provided by staff and Chartwells included an increase in the mill-equivalent rate from about $3.43 to $3.74 per meal, and a Chartwells financial guarantee of $400,000 per year (the guarantee excludes equipment reimbursements). Mr. Wall said Chartwells proposed enhanced food quality with weekly premium-day menu options and an expanded coffee shop program that would reach all four high schools by the following fall or winter.
Employee compensation changes in the proposal would raise minimum pay for Chartwells employees to $14.50 per hour and to $15.30 for employees who have been with the vendor for seven years. The proposal also includes quarterly perfect-attendance bonuses, semester and end-of-year bonuses to incentivize retention.
Aaron described the Navigate program, a 12-week training pilot Chartwells offers that combines classroom instruction and hands-on experience to prepare students from underserved backgrounds for food-service careers, soft skills and workplace readiness. Chartwells proposed using the district food truck to provide hands-on experience at schools; staff said the proposal also scheduled use of the food truck twice per school annually for outreach and student experience.
Mr. Wall said the district will provide the full proposal documents to board members and asked the board to add the contract recommendation to the action agenda at the next meeting so the board can consider formal approval.
