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Snohomish district reports steady meal participation, to review prices and Chartwells renewal
Summary
District staff told the board the food-service program is serving roughly 2,700 lunches and 500 breakfasts per day, has served 246,000 meals through January and will return this spring to seek price and contract decisions tied to CPI limits.
On Feb. 26 the Snohomish School District Board of Directors received an informational update from district staff and Chartwells on student food service participation, programs and an upcoming contract renewal.
Tom (staff member, Snohomish School District) told the board the district is averaging about 2,700 lunches and 500 breakfasts per school day and had served 246,000 meals through January. "We're serving 246,000 meals so far this year," Tom said. He said those counts are through January and projected to be roughly 500,000 lunches and 100,000 breakfasts by the end of the school year.
The update noted Emerson Elementary participates in the federal Community Eligibility Provision so every student there receives free meals; Tom said Emerson and Dutch Hill have the highest daily counts. The districtwide free-and-reduced share was reported at just over 20% in January; district staff said that percentage is lower at the elementary level and that some eligible older students do not complete applications.
The district and Chartwells highlighted two site-level programs. Tom said Chartwells' "mood boost" cards have been popular at the elementary level, and "Global Eats," a rotating cultural-entree program at Snohomish High School, has been well received by students though it has not measurably increased overall participation.
Meal prices are currently $3.25 for elementary and $3.50 for secondary lunches; those prices have been unchanged since the 2022–23 school year. Tom told the board the district will review prices this year and likely return to the board with a recommendation for 2025–26. He said the district’s contract with Chartwells limits price increases to the Consumer Price Index (CPI) cap included in the agreement.
Board members asked whether participation targets or outreach might increase lunches taken by students who bring food or use student stores at high schools. Marty (staff member, Snohomish School District), who accompanied Chartwells representatives, said the Global Eats pilot had boosted take rates for the specific entree but not overall participation; she noted competition at high schools from student stores and ASB-sponsored food.
District staff said Chartwells' contract renewal will come before the board this spring after the RFP/renewal process; the contract allows annual renewal and caps price increases at CPI unless extraordinary circumstances occur.
The board did not take action on food-service policy or prices at the Feb. 26 meeting. Staff said they will return with the recommended renewal and any price-change proposal once they have completed required contract and budget reviews.
