Western Placer food services reports meal uptick and menu changes as it pursues grants and certifications
Get AI-powered insights, summaries, and transcripts
Sign Up Free
Summary
District food services said daily meal counts have risen to roughly 6,300 since universal meals began; leaders outlined staff increases, menu development, professional development and grant efforts to upgrade kitchens and reduce waste.
Food service leaders for Western Placer Unified told the board they have nearly doubled the number of meals served compared with pre‑universal‑meal levels and are pursuing training, vendor partnerships and grants to improve scratch cooking and reduce waste.
Why it matters: Christina Lawson, district food service director, reported that total daily meals rose to about 6,304 per day — a roughly 22% increase from the prior year and a much larger increase compared with 2019–20 levels. Lawson said staff hours and positions grew to meet demand (the presentation cited about 48 food‑service team members and roughly 318 total hours across the program).
Program details: Cindy Nelson, the district’s food‑service lead, described investments in professional development including a “culinary boot camp” at the Culinary Institute of America and training partnerships with nonprofit and federal providers. The program has added production leads and cook‑bakers at busy sites, and Lawson said the team is pursuing Let’s Move/eBREAL‑style certification and other grants for equipment.
Funding and facilities: Lawson said the program has obtained about $800,000 in equipment grants but faces limits on using certain funds for installation and facility work; bond funds typically used for capital projects may not cover labor, plumbing or electrical work required to install new ovens. The food service fund is expected to hit the district general fund this year (first time outside pandemic year 2019–20), and staff said they are working to keep the program self‑sustaining by reducing food costs, pursuing grants and improving forecasting.
Menu and compliance changes: The presentation noted ongoing menu trials, “guest chef” days, student tastings and a monthly harvest feature. Lawson warned of new state and federal nutrition rules effective July 1 that will lower allowable sodium and sugar and expand “buy American” documentation requirements.
Community outreach: Lawson said students participated in the program survey and that primary responses came from students; the department plans a student‑senate tasting event in April to sample new items before large‑scale rollout.
Ending: Board members thanked the food service staff for innovation and fundraising. The district did not seek a board funding decision at the meeting but asked for consideration in future bond or capital planning so kitchens can be upgraded to support scratch cooking.