Mountain View Whisman trustees discuss reusable dishware pilot, ask staff to pilot outsourced dishwashing at Landau’s

The Mountain View Whisman School District Board of Trustees on Sept. 18 heard a presentation on a pilot to move Landau’s Elementary from single-use meal service to reusable dishware, and discussed next steps including a limited outsourced pilot and more information on health and operational impacts.

Dr. Rebecca Westover, presenting on behalf of district nutrition services, outlined two models: an in-house dishwashing option and an outsourced service. Dr. Westover said in-house conversion would require kitchen modifications (estimated $120,000–$145,000 depending on site), additional staffing (an estimated additional one full‑time 8‑hour employee plus hourly support totaling roughly $90,000 annually for Landau’s), and one-time equipment and cart purchases. She said product donations from a nonprofit called Plastic Free Restaurants could cover about $59,490 of plate/utensil needs.

Dr. Westover summarized the outsourced option as a daily pickup and delivery service (DishJoy is one vendor identified) that would require two sets of dishware at each site, a daily fee of about $0.40 per…