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District recommends switching elementary food service to Whitsons after positive junior‑high results
Summary
District staff recommended the board move elementary school meal service to Whitsons, which operates the junior high program from a newly renovated commissary kitchen; board discussion focused on capacity and potential pricing impacts, with staff saying the cost to the district would remain similar.
Flossmoor School District 161 staff recommended on June 9 that the district change elementary foodservice providers from Open Kitchens to Whitsons, the company currently serving Parker Junior High.
District staff said Whitsons recently purchased and renovated a commissary kitchen in the western suburbs and can prepare off‑site meals to deliver daily to elementary schools — a capability the company did not have earlier. Staff reported higher food quality at the junior high since Whitsons began service there and recommended the change to improve elementary meal quality.
Administrators told the board they have no capacity concerns: Whitsons is already preparing meals for other districts and would be able to scale service. Staff said the per‑meal cost to the district would remain about the same; federal and state reimbursements and paid‑meal revenue support the program and the food service operation is intended to be self‑sustaining.
Board members asked whether paid‑meal prices might rise over time. Staff explained annual price adjustments typically track CPI and federal reimbursement changes under the paid‑lunch equity tool; staff said they were comfortable with the likely pricing path.
The recommendation was presented as a board discussion item; board members did not take a final contract vote at the June 9 meeting. Staff said Whitsons would operate from a commissary kitchen and, if the board approves the contract in a future action item, Whitsons would be prepared to serve the elementary schools and to support the district operationally from Parker if issues arise.
