Get Full Government Meeting Transcripts, Videos, & Alerts Forever!
Get email alerts on the School Food Services topic
No spam. Unsubscribe anytime.
Shawnee Mission reports rising lunch participation, unpaid meal debt and local-food efforts
Summary
Food services briefed the board on participation, finances and menu innovations: lunch participation increased while unpaid meal debt topped about $210,000; the department is expanding local beef sourcing and student-driven menu testing.
Shawnee Mission School District food services reported higher lunch participation this year, ongoing financial pressure from food costs and an expanded effort to bring local products to student meals.
Director of Food Services Grace Liss told the board the district's average daily participation this school year was 2,989 for breakfast and 14,958 for lunch, with the single highest lunch day at 15,970. Food service revenue year-to-date was reported at about $7.67 million. Liss said labor costs are near industry benchmarks, but combined food-and-supply costs have risen above typical shares because of higher market prices.
Unpaid meal debt has increased since pandemic-era universal free meals ended: Liss said unpaid balances totaled over $149,000 last year, were more than $179,000 in February and are now “over $210,000,” a figure she said fluctuates by minute as payments are made.
The presentation described district outreach and menu development practices. Food service uses student focus groups for recipe testing and brought back “spice stations” this year after pandemic reductions; taste testing led to trials of a chicken-dipping sauce and a noodle-bowl concept. Liss said menu changes must meet USDA nutrition rules and district review before rollout.
The department highlighted farm-to-school work: middle and high schools receive ground beef from a local supplier (Steve’s Meat Market) and the Kansas City Food Hub; Thursday menus feature local beef patties and in-season local produce ordering options for schools. Liss said the program drew statewide attention at a KSDE town-hall meeting.
The presentation noted upcoming changes to meet July 2024 USDA meal-pattern updates: flavored milk will shift from skim to 1% to meet added-sugar limits, yogurt choices will change, and juice will no longer be offered as a lunch fruit choice (it will remain at breakfast).
Board members asked about food waste and share-table rules. Assistant Director Jennifer Earthly said USDA rules now allow limited reuse of unopened, safely handled packaged items on school share tables (certain items such as opened cheese sticks cannot be redistributed for food-safety reasons). Members also asked about Buy America and potential tariff effects on produce: Liss said new Buy America rules cap non-U.S. purchases to 10% and the department is most worried about imported produce such as cucumbers and red bell peppers; she said there is uncertainty about tariff impacts on availability and price.
No formal action was taken. Food services said it will continue menu sampling, local sourcing and communications with principals and families about upcoming changes.
