Mount Vernon board hears plan to expand school meals, pursue farm‑to‑school grants amid aging kitchen equipment

Donna Jackson, the district's new school food service manager, told the Mount Vernon City School District Board of Education on Oct. 14 that the district is pursuing farm‑to‑school and other grants while managing aging kitchen equipment and lower meal participation that could reduce program revenues.

Jackson, who said she officially began the job on Sept. 8, 2025, delivered a broad presentation on school nutrition that reviewed program history, federal rules and local operations, outlined grant deadlines, and asked trustees and the community to support increased student participation. "Every student in the Mount Vernon City School District can eat nutritionally sound, lovingly prepared, breakfast and lunch for free every day for free," she said.

The presentation covered several operational and funding points the district faces. Mount Vernon contracts with food service management company Sodexo to plan menus and run kitchens; Jackson said Sodexo's Amanda Plummer began as general manager just days before Jackson took her post. District enrollment used in the Sodexo bid was "over 7,000," Jackson said; current enrollment is just over 6,700, and lower participation in school meals reduces the federal…