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Organic Life details menus, composting and local‑produce plans to Grayslake CCSD 46 board
Summary
Organic Life presenters described cafeteria upgrades, a rise in participation, expanded composting and plans to increase elementary entrée choices; board members asked about supply chain monitoring, packaging and local sourcing.
Erica Arlinski, vice president with Organic Life, told the Grayslake CCSD 46 Board of Education that the company has updated cafeteria signage, increased menu variety and expanded composting across district schools.
Arlinski said the vendor has logged about 11,000 additional meals served from the start of the school year through February and has been introducing new monthly menu items while tracking student participation. “We always incorporate new menu items each month. . . . our main goal is always to get the kids to be happy, and eating foods at school,” Arlinski said. She described a grab‑and‑go breakfast bag program at elementary schools and daily hot specials and other daily choices at middle schools.
The presentation outlined an operational change to reduce waste: the district-wide move to five‑compartment compostable trays and the use of individual sporks rather than pre-wrapped utensil kits. “We are composting in the front and the back of the house and the kitchen and out in the cafeteria as well with the food and the students,” Arlinski said.
Board members asked about several sustainability and procurement topics. Organic Life said Gordon Food Service is its purveyor and that the company monitors suppliers through that relationship. On whether the vendor has a dedicated sustainability officer, Arlinski said sustainability responsibilities are distributed across staff and suppliers rather than housed in a single role.
On single‑use packaging, Organic Life explained constraints from the district’s grab‑and‑go breakfast model: prepackaged items are placed into bags for students to carry to classrooms, and removing individual wrapping would require more labor and different service infrastructure. The vendor said some packaging decisions are driven by supplier packaging and federal meal program packaging requirements.
Organic Life said it sources fresh fruits and vegetables when seasonally available from nearby Midwest suppliers in Illinois, Wisconsin, Indiana and Michigan and will provide more local‑produce data on request. The company noted it will introduce an additional elementary entrée option beginning April 1 in response to a district food‑service survey in which more than 80 percent of student respondents said multiple daily choices were important.
The board did not take action on the presentation; the item was informational.
