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District staff favor Quest after food‑service RFP; company guarantees $1.05M return over five years
Summary
After an RFP for food‑service management, district staff recommend Quest based on student taste testing, district comparisons and a five‑year financial guarantee of $1,050,000; the board may consider a contract on May 19 if questions are resolved.
District staff recommended Quest Food Management as their preferred vendor after a March request for proposals to replace the incumbent food‑service operator.
Staff said three proposals were received — from incumbent Sodexo, Organic Life and Quest — and the evaluation included a student taste test with roughly 20 students and staff tasting menus from each vendor. Staff reported Quest rose to the top of the recommendation, citing operational proposals and proposed district returns.
According to Quest's Schedule G included in the packet, Quest proposed retaining 88.5 percent of cafeteria sales to operate the program and returning the remaining 11.5 percent to the district; Quest provided both a projected return based on sales and a guaranteed minimum return of $1,050,000 over five years. District staff said Quest believes it can grow participation and sales to exceed that guaranteed minimum.
District staff and Quest representatives discussed program features the company would bring: increased grab‑and‑go options, mobile ordering pilots for busy stations, expanded made‑to‑order stations and a food philosophy emphasizing localized and higher‑quality ingredients. Quest said it focuses on high‑school programs not on the National School Lunch Program and cited peer districts where per‑student daily sales substantially exceed District 204's current per‑capita sales.
Board members asked about pricing, meal access for free/reduced students and whether the district or vendor controls price changes. Staff said the district approves final pricing and that Quest's proposal seeks to balance affordability and program investment. Quest and district staff discussed composting and donation options for leftover, non‑perishable food and logistics challenges for hot food donations.
Staff said they received the draft contract earlier the same day and aimed to bring the contract to the May 19 board meeting for consideration if open questions are resolved quickly; transition planning was highlighted as an important factor given the operational complexity of switching providers at the start of a school year.
