Penfield food-service director reports 321,000 lunches served last year; district begins Provision 2 free meals

Angela Johnson, the district’s director of food service, told the Penfield Central School District Board of Education on Sept. 9 that the department served about 321,000 lunches and about 111,000 breakfasts in the 2024–25 school year and will operate under USDA Provision 2 for 2025–26, which provides one free breakfast and one free lunch to every student.

Johnson said the district did not qualify for the Community Eligibility Provision (CEP) last year but was approved for Provision 2 for the current school year, meaning all families may receive one free breakfast and one free lunch daily. She encouraged families to continue completing household applications so the district retains accurate data on student eligibility.

Johnson reviewed last year’s menu changes — including new entrees such as hot-honey beef, Philly steak, and mini ravioli — and described ongoing “harvest of the month” sampling and student surveys used for menu feedback. She said the district is using USDA entitlement commodity dollars toward brown-box items and is working with local vendors; she named Willow Run Foods for brown-box produce and mentioned changes among regional distributors.

To manage higher line volume under Provision 2, the food-service office has expanded breakfast lines at some elementary schools (separating cold and hot choices), limited the number of fruit choices served on a given day, and is encouraging elementary students to enter PIN numbers at point-of-sale terminals to speed throughput. Johnson said students’ photos display on registers to reduce mis-entry for returning students and that staff confirm identity when needed for younger students.

Johnson discussed staffing and equipment challenges after the opening of a new commons area and said the department moved staff between sites to cover gaps. She reported an increase in negative student meal account balances from 2023–24 and said the district sent two reminder emails and physical letters during the year; she identified the year-end negative-balance total as approximately $41,000 as reported to the board.

Johnson said the district is preparing for a state review and will continue using Mosaic for point-of-sale and MySchoolBooks (now offering OnePay e-check annual payment) for family payments. She described menu changes driven by 2025 federal nutrition standards that reduced added sugars in cereals and yogurts; she noted some retail-brand items served in school are different formulations made for K–12 contracts.

Board members asked about vegetarian, gluten-free and allergy accommodations and about line times. Johnson said vegetarian options (marked on menus) appear two to three times weekly, salads and hummus plates remain available at secondary schools, and gluten-free and other special meals are handled case-by-case. She said current average throughput is about 10–12 minutes per grade-level lunch period and that the department is refining processes as the year progresses.

The presentation closed with board members thanking Johnson and her staff for catering support and noting favorable student reactions to menu items and to the district’s new cell-phone pouch policy, which several student representatives said has reduced hallway distractions.

Ending: The director said professional development requirements remain in place for food-service staff, several staff completed ServSafe certification last year, the district will continue using Institute of Child Nutrition resources and Mosaic recipe/production records, and it will share additional details with families about payment options and menu preordering as the elementary preordering pilot continues.