MMSD food service outlines scratch‑style pilots, seeks to raise participation

Madison Metropolitan School District food and nutrition staff told the operations work group on March 10 they are pursuing a two‑track approach to improve school meals: scale cooked‑from‑scratch menus centrally, and standardize lunchroom setups to increase participation.

Scott Chiak, Senior Executive Director of Building Services, led the update and said the department is focusing first on participation because higher meal participation brings revenue that helps control overall program costs. He presented participation data that showed community eligible provision (CEP) elementary breakfast participation averaging about 49.4% year‑to‑date and elementary lunch participation around 61%; middle school breakfast participation was about 28% and lunch about 63%.

"If you start to see plateaus in data, another input has to change," Chiak said, describing a project to provide principals and food service staff with a uniform, flexible service layout intended to make the dining environment quieter and more consistent across schools.

Josh, a food and nutrition staff member who co‑presented the pilot work, described a "scratch cooking" pilot that used the district food preparation kitchen on Flam Road to prepare items at scale and distribute them to schools. Menu examples from the pilot included miso‑marinated roasted tofu, cilantro‑lime rice and a cabbage‑scallion slaw; staff reported strong student response during a spring pilot and said better‑prepared vegetables were well received. Chiak said scaling from a central commissary avoids the large capital costs of refitting kitchens in every school and allows the district to offer more culturally appropriate and freshly prepared options while controlling costs.

Staff also said they are piloting classroom breakfast options and second‑chance breakfast at high schools to capture students who arrive late. Chiak noted an operational focus on vegetarian and vegan options and said the district is working with local produce partners to increase Wisconsin‑sourced items where feasible; milk used by the district is processed through a Midwest firm with Wisconsin dairy supply chains.

Board members asked about costs and scalability. Food staff said labor and equipment are the main added costs to scale scratch‑style meals but that they are testing redistribution of USDA funds and working to control unit costs. Chiak said some pilot items can be prepared at the commissary and shipped cold or hot to schools; a broader roll‑out will be staged over several months to prepare for next school year.

District staff said they will return with more detailed cost estimates and plans for pilot expansion, and asked principals and school communities to support standardized service setups to help increase participation and revenue.