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Organic Life reports 511,000 meals served in first half of year; ISBE CACFP audit found district compliant
Summary
Organic Life, the district’s food-service vendor, told the board it served more than half a million breakfasts and lunches between August and December, described a successful Illinois State Board of Education CACFP audit and detailed a small school-breakfast expansion grant.
ROUND LAKE, Ill. — Erica Arlinsky, vice president with Organic Life, updated the Round Lake CUSD 116 Board of Education on the district’s food-service operations on Feb. 3, reporting meal counts, audit results and a small breakfast-expansion grant that funded breakfast carts at seven schools.
Arlinsky said Organic Life’s counts for August through December show “over 511,000 meals already served” between breakfast and lunch, plus “over 17,000 AM and PM snacks” and “over 21,000” suppers/dinners under the district’s after-school meal program. She told the board the Illinois State Board of Education completed an on-site Child and Adult Care Food Program (CACFP) review in mid-January and found the district’s early education center operations to be in compliance with state and federal regulations, including meal counts, record keeping, menus, production records and civil-rights training.
Arlinsky also described a $10,000 School Breakfast Expansion grant tied to a training visit to Joliet Junior College; the grant paid for breakfast carts at seven district schools and a small menu-development and pilot effort. Board members asked for comparative metrics — season-to-season or year-to-year comparisons — and Arlinsky agreed to provide last year-to-this-year comparisons at the next food-service update and to work with board members on delivery of interim numbers.
Board members asked whether the breakfast-expansion grant continues beyond the current school year; Organic Life said the $10,000 award covered the current year only and that district finance officials will determine reapplication when the program is reopened around mid-April.
Arlinsky highlighted the district’s transition to a full-day early education center (EEC) meal program and described student-focused outreach (focus groups) and partnerships that support after-school and transition-student employment (a named transition student helped make pizzas at the high school). The presentation also included recognition of an Organic Life employee who administered the Heimlich maneuver to save a student.
Ending: Organic Life will provide comparative meal-count metrics and an updated food-service report at the district’s next food-service update; the board asked staff to work with Organic Life and finance staff to monitor the grant timeline and reapplication process.
