Alexandria Public Schools plans more local sourcing, push toward scratch cooking in school meals

Janine Petersen, director of Food and Nutrition Services for Alexandria Public School District, told the school board the department increased local purchases by 54% this year and plans a multiyear shift toward more scratch cooking and locally sourced proteins.

Petersen told the board the department added a new vendor, The Good Acre, installed a cooler at a central hub to simplify farmer deliveries and avoid coordinating drop-off schedules, and provided staff culinary training so kitchens could produce more soups, sauces and dressings from scratch.

Those steps, Petersen said, produced a notable rise in local procurement without the large anticipated jump in overall food costs: “We increased our purchases by 54% this year, which for us was a pretty big jump,” she said. She told the board some items remain costly — “for example, chicken, it’s $9 more a pound” — but that the mix of suppliers and improved distribution has made local sourcing more practical.

The shift toward…