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Mercer County food service reports 533,000 school meals served, expands farm-to-school sourcing
Summary
The district food service presenter said the department served 533,000 meals during the school year, about 166,000 meals in last summer's feeding program, earned USDA grants for farm-to-school work and plans outdoor seating and hydroponics programs.
The Mercer County Board of Education received an annual update from the district’s food service presenter, Chris Miner, who reviewed meal counts, program reviews, local sourcing and upcoming projects.
Miner said the food service program served about 533,000 meals during the nine-and-a-half months of the school year and served roughly 166,000 meals in last year’s summer feeding program (June and July). He said the district was awarded a grant through Feeding Kentucky/No Kid Hungry to help offset summer-feeding costs and that 22 of 31 employees had signed up to work summer feeding this year.
Miner said the department completed its administrative review with no school-level findings and two minor technical findings at the district level that were cleared; he also reported an ongoing procurement review of five years of financials. He said the department’s end-of-year financial position has improved since he took over and that retention losses were limited to three staff members—two retirees and one staffer leaving for another field.
On local sourcing, Miner said he won a United States Department of Agriculture farm-to-school grant and that the district partners with Goose Creek Family Farms for locally sourced beef. He said approximately 75% of the district’s fruit and vegetable purchases come from within about 40 miles, depending on season. The food service presenter said hydroponics work at the intermediate school produced harvests and that raised garden beds and outdoor seating pads are being added at King Middle School and Mercer County Intermediate School; the King Middle School seating will accommodate about 68 students at a time.
Miner said a high school kitchen remodel is scheduled to start in July and be completed shortly after work begins. He also said the department is expanding parent involvement in building-level events and will publish an updated annual brochure covering programs and financial totals.
No formal board action was recorded on the food service report.
