Harrison County Schools honors "School Lunch Heroes" and details nutrition program gains and challenges

The Harrison County Board of Education on May 20 issued a proclamation recognizing School Lunch Hero Day and heard an extended report from the district's food services director on operations, finances and program changes.

The board's proclamation said Harrison County school cooks will prepare "over 1,000,000 meals this school year" and urged community appreciation for cafeteria staff. At the meeting the food services director described operational changes and cost controls that the department said reduced first-semester costs by about $148,000 versus the prior year while serving roughly the same number of meals.

The director provided program metrics: the department served about 1,800,000 meals last year (an increase of roughly 95,000 from the year before) and reported that better meal-counting practices and menu adjustments increased revenue by roughly $300,000 last year; revenue year-to-date for the current year was about $240,000 higher than the prior year, the director said. The director also said converting several schools to CACFP supper status and other program moves increased related reimbursements by about $70,000 as of April.

The director described operational initiatives used to reduce waste and better match menus to student preferences, including countywide taste tests, menu charting to identify top-selling items, and closer coordination with managers to ensure meals are entered properly into the district's Point-of-Sale for reimbursement. They also noted the district is taking vendor samples and running small rollouts to avoid countywide spending on unpopular items.

The director discussed a state food-dye ban: "7 food dyes along with 2 preservatives will be banned in West Virginia starting 01/01/2028. As for schools, the 7 dyes were banned in August, first of this year," they said, and added that vendors have begun supplying compliant versions (the strawberry milk vendor already changed formulations). They said co-op purchasing and commodity suppliers are adjusting catalogues to prevent banned items from being ordered accidentally.

The director said grants and match funding continue to be pursued and that maintenance staff have helped keep aging equipment operational while the department deploys repair and replacement plans for ovens and dishwashers. Two additional grants were awarded recently, the director said, and several capital equipment replacements are planned.

Board members praised cafeteria staff and congratulated students receiving awards elsewhere in the agenda. The board adopted the proclamation recognizing the cooks; no separate funding vote was tied to the proclamation.