Queen Anne's County schools expand mobile summer meals while officials weigh food‑service fund drawdown

Julie Hickey, coordinator of food services for Queen Anne's County Public Schools, told the board on June 18 that the district served nearly 725,000 school meals in the 2024–25 school year and will launch four mobile summer meal sites Monday, June 23, continuing through Aug. 14 to reach students who rely on school meals during the summer. "These mobile sites are new this year, and we'll really get a lot of meals to the students who are dependent on school meals during the school year," Hickey said.

The board approved the FY26 food‑service budget by voice vote after an extended discussion about the program's fund balance and projected shortfalls. Rob Watkins, the district's supervisor of finance, said the food‑service fund balance stood at $1,945,000 as of June 30 and that the district is projecting a FY25 deficit of approximately $334,000; Watkins and staff said they expect to use part of the fund balance this year to bring the food‑service fund to a zero position and project a FY26 shortfall of about $694,000 that would draw the balance down further if not offset by increased revenue or cost reductions.

Hickey outlined steps intended to increase participation and revenue, including the expansion of summer service to mobile sites (four locations), adding after‑school snack programs at four Title I schools for next year and exploring a possible supper program at those sites. She also described improvements made during year one of the in‑house program: increased fresh fruit and vegetable offerings, partnerships with three local vendors, more than 25 new breakfast items, reduced single‑use packaging, installation of new production and recipe software, and training of new staff.

The food‑service program received two recent grants: a roughly $34,000 award from No Kid Hungry used to install refrigeration in the program's vehicle and a $2,000 Dairy Council grant to buy breakfast carts for Centerville Middle School. Hickey said the carts are intended to increase grab‑and‑go breakfast participation where bus schedules reduced time for students to eat before class.

Board members pressed staff on the sustainability of the local program and the timeline for corrective action if the fund balance declines as projected. One board member noted the fund balance could be exhausted in three to four years at the current trend; Watkins and staff said they will provide midyear updates and expect an audited picture of actuals in October or November. Watkins said staff would pursue continued cost control, revenue‑generating programs and, if necessary, evaluate a request for proposals for a third‑party food‑service operator. Board members were told that the district is not planning to raise student meal prices for the coming year.

The board voted to approve the food‑service budget as presented; the motion was made and seconded and passed by voice vote. Preparations for the mobile sites and summer service will proceed as scheduled.

Next steps: staff will provide periodic budget updates on food service during the FY26 year, return with audited actuals after the financial statement audit in the fall and report midyear if additional action is needed to preserve the fund balance.