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Sayreville food services reports $1.2M surplus, introduces new vans, combi ovens and online menu tools
Summary
District food services reported an estimated $2.5M enterprise balance with roughly $1.2M in surplus that must be spent down under federal restrictions; staff highlighted new delivery vans, combination ovens, Payschools and Healthy Pro menu viewer during the Jan. 2 presentation.
The Sayreville School District’s food services staff told the board on Jan. 2 that the food services enterprise fund holds roughly $2.5 million and that an estimated $1.2 million in surplus must be spent down because federal National School Lunch Program rules limit allowable fund balances.
“We have about $2,500,000 in that account. So we have to spend that down as much as we can,” an administrator told the board, adding that auditors expect the district to spend down approximately half of the surplus by the end of the current school year.
What was presented: food services director Mr. Sidadino (presenting) summarized federal reimbursement rates for the current school year — free lunches $4.43, reduced lunches $4.03 and paid lunches $0.42; free breakfasts $2.84, reduced $2.54 and paid breakfasts $0.39 — and monthly meal totals (September 64,612; October 93,794; November 59,380). He also described fleet and kitchen upgrades: a second delivery van to split routes, new combination (combi) ovens with touchscreen recipe storage and an 18-inch touchscreen register upgrade to speed student transactions.
Technology and accessibility: Mr. Sidadino introduced Payschools as the district’s cloud-based account-management app so parents can view transactions and deposit funds, and Healthy Pro as an online menu viewer that displays nutritional and allergen information when users click individual menu items. During board Q&A staff clarified that nutritional details do not auto-populate on the menu view but appear when a user selects an item; the menu viewer is primarily online and the printed menus in schools do not carry the full online details.
Board concerns and limitations: members asked whether nutritional information should be optional to protect students with eating disorders; staff agreed to explore presentation options. Administrators emphasized that NSLP funds are federally restricted for allowable food-service items; they cited a prior state-approved use of funds to replace a walk-in refrigerator/freezer and said proposed purchases must fit allowable categories.
Finance and next steps: food services reported unaudited historical figures showing pandemic-related losses followed by surpluses when free-meal policies and federal rate increases were in effect. With the present enterprise balance, administrators said they will propose allowable equipment and one-time improvements (for example, a new serving line at the middle school) and avoid using surplus for recurring costs. Staff committed to returning with a formal plan to spend down the surplus in line with auditor guidance.
Direct quote: “Free lunches are gonna come back at $4.43,” Mr. Sidadino said during the presentation. He also noted operational benefits of two vans: “Splitting the guys up works out beautifully.”
What’s next: administrators will prepare a spend-down plan and present recommended allowable purchases and timelines to the board for approval; auditors’ guidance frames the near-term deadline to reduce the surplus.
