Board approves consolidation of Nevada County school food programs into 'Community Roots' JPA

Board of Trustees President Andrew Klein presided over a unanimous vote Jan. 15 approving Resolution No. 14-2425 to consolidate the district’s National School Lunch Program (NSLP) food service authority into a countywide joint powers authority (JPA) branded Community Roots.

The vote followed a presentation by Sam (Executive Director, Community Roots food services JPA) outlining the history, budget projection and implementation timeline for centralizing production and procurement for nine Nevada County school districts. The board adopted the resolution with no recorded no votes; the roll call recorded trustees Johnson, Chilton, Clark, Pritchett, Willoughby and President Klein voting “aye.”

The district’s action transfers the district’s role as a separate School Food Authority (SFA) to Community Roots, which backers say will allow the partner districts to buy in larger volume, expand scratch-cooked meals, increase purchases from local producers and standardize menus countywide. Sam told the board the JPA was created in 2022 after a feasibility study and that he was hired in May 2024 to build the program and operations. He said Community Roots has identified the…