USD 261 reports 238,000 breakfasts served; district to change school food procurement model
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Summary
Haysville food-service staff said the district served about 238,000 breakfasts in 2024–25 and recommended continuing the free breakfast program; administrators outlined a new procurement plan to reduce food costs by buying direct from manufacturers and reducing delivery frequency.
Haysville School District officials reported they provided roughly 238,000 student breakfasts during the 2024–25 school year and said they recommend continuing the free breakfast program next year.
Gina Lee (staff member), who presented the child nutrition report, said the district served approximately "238,000 breakfasts, roughly," and that the program generated reimbursement income of about $437,000 for the year. Lee described free and reduced reimbursement rates as $2.84 for free, $0.54 for reduced-price, and $0.39 for paid breakfasts.
Why it matters: district leaders said breakfasts respond to student need and help families amid rising food prices; the program’s participation remained largely steady. Lee said the majority of funding is federal ("the majority is federal; about 2 to 5% from state") and that she did not see an immediate risk of losing funding, though federal and state funding can be unpredictable.
Procurement changes: Lee and other staff reviewed a proposed new procurement model for next year to reduce food costs. The district has belonged to a co‑op buying arrangement for about 10 years; co‑ops pool demand across districts to get better unit prices. Lee described two procurement options being pursued by other districts: a prime‑vendor arrangement (one distributor supplying 80–90% of goods) and a model that buys direct from manufacturers for some items, combined with a rebate program for distributor purchases.
Lee said the district plans to reduce delivery frequency for major items to twice a month and to organize larger, scheduled shipments (including using trailers) to lower per‑case transport costs. She described the operational tradeoffs: "We will be getting week to week deliveries, just not from that company," meaning a primary vendor will supply the bulk and secondary vendors will cover remainder items.
Board reaction and next steps: trustees asked about storage, spoilage risk and staffing; Lee said schools will maintain at least two weeks of inventory on hand and that the food-service team has experience managing larger deliveries. The board praised the work: "I would like to recognize Gina ... she came to us ... and said, hey, this process we're in isn't the best," a board member said.
No formal vote was recorded on procurement in the meeting minutes; staff said the plan will be implemented next year and that they will monitor its effect on costs and operations.
