Chester awards summer food contract at $18.50 per meal; new parks coordinator introduced

The Chester City Council voted Wednesday to award the city's 2025 Summer Food Services Program contract to Walnut Street Deli at a rate not to exceed $18.50 per unitized meal. The resolution says the contract is contingent on final review and approval by the city solicitor and estimates a season cost of $67,839.50 based on last summer's volume of 3,667 unitized meals.

Council members and staff discussed the high per-meal cost during debate and said the city will seek more competitive pricing next year. A council member noted the Pennsylvania Department of Education reimbursements for a summer meal are about $5 per meal, leaving the city to subsidize roughly $13 per meal at the contract price. No change to the awarded contractor was made; the resolution passed unanimously.

The meeting also included a public introduction of Crystal Burrell as the city's new Parks and Recreation coordinator. Burrell, a longtime Chester resident and event planner, told the council she will focus on programming for children, teens, adults and seniors and welcomed ideas from residents. "The parks and recs department is super excited for this season," Burrell said. "Please come to me if you guys have any ideas for programming."

City officials said the summer meals program is complex to run under state rules, and past bids or supplier failures have led to missed seasons. Staff and council pledged to begin procurement earlier next year and to explore alternatives to reduce the city's per-meal subsidy while expanding participation.

Ending: The contract award is contingent on solicitor review. Officials said the Parks & Recreation office will help coordinate outreach to increase participation and work earlier on next year's procurement to reduce per-meal costs.