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RSU 22 food service reports self-sufficiency; serves 11,000 meals weekly and seeks to protect federal supports
Summary
Director Pete Merritt told the committee the nutrition program is separate from the operating budget, currently self-sufficient, serves about 11,000 meals a week with a staff of roughly 30, and relies on federal reimbursements, USDA commodities ($113,000) and DOD produce credits ($41,000).
Pete Merritt, RSU 22 director of food services, told the school committee the district's nutrition program is not part of the regular operating budget and that the department is not requesting money from the operating budget this year.
Merritt said the department serves breakfast and lunch to the district's six schools, at roughly 11,000 meals per week, and employs about 30 staff. He provided participation rates of about 71% for lunch and 33% for breakfast and described the program's principal revenue as federal and state meal reimbursements (the National School Lunch Program and related reimbursements). Merritt gave example reimbursement amounts "for lunch, it's about $4.50. And for breakfast, it's about $2.39." He also said RSU 22 receives roughly $113,000 in USDA commodity credits and about $41,000 in Department of Defense produce credits to buy fresh fruit and vegetables.
Merritt said the nutrition program has a fund balance (he reported an opening balance of about $670,000), recent equipment purchases of roughly $60,000 and currently shows a small year-to-date loss of about $25,000 after those purchases. He projected the program could finish the year about $75,000 positive before planned equipment replacements, but noted the program carries replacement needs (a new dish machine at Reedsbrook estimated at $50,000). He said the program's fund balance could cover several years of potential cuts but that state policy changes or reduced reimbursements would force program changes.
Merritt emphasized that all students may eat up to two meals free each day under current federal/state provisions and that the nutrition fund balance is separate from the district general fund because the food service program is intended to be self-sustaining. He also described operational priorities: improving food quality, increasing participation (particularly breakfast), and reducing line times so students have adequate time to eat.
Committee members asked whether recent federal program cuts in the news would affect RSU 22; Merritt said the two named programs (local food purchase assistance cooperative agreement and local food for schools and childcare cooperative agreement) would be affected starting fall 2025, but the USDA commodity and DOD produce allocations the district currently receives are not affected at present. Merritt said he can adjust operations if funding changes but prefers to protect programs that serve students.
No formal board action was taken; the presentation was informational and committee members thanked Merritt for the update.
