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Rockwood touts school-meal reach and local purchases as board proclaims National School Lunch Week
Summary
Child Nutrition staff reported staffing, participation and procurement highlights — including 173 employees, roughly 1.2 million lunches served last year and over 5,000 pounds of locally sourced watermelon — as the board approved a proclamation declaring Oct. 13–17, 2025 National School Lunch Week.
The Rockwood Board of Education approved a proclamation naming Oct. 13–17, 2025 as National School Lunch Week and heard a Child Nutrition Services presentation laying out participation numbers, local purchasing and equipment upgrades.
Carmen Harris, speaking for Child Nutrition, said the department employs 173 staff and served close to 171,000 breakfasts and about 1,200,000 lunches last school year. “We participate in school breakfast, national school lunch, and the USDA commodity foods program,” Harris said, adding that the district received substantial commodity foods (valued at roughly $708,000) and direct USDA reimbursements (reported in presentation as about $259,000 for breakfast and $1,400,000 for lunch).
Harris highlighted Farm to School efforts, reporting the district has purchased over 5,000 pounds of watermelon from a local grower, and described recent capital and operational upgrades: 12 new dishwashers installed over the summer, two new serving lines at LaSalle and a new combi oven and warmers at other sites.
On prices and fiscal responsibility, Harris said meal prices have not increased since 2022; current paid elementary lunch is $3.60 and secondary lunch is $3.80, with reduced-price breakfast at $0.30 and reduced-price lunch at $0.40. The department also runs nutrition education and engagement events such as “Try It” days to introduce students to new produce.
The board approved the National School Lunch Week proclamation by voice vote and thanked staff for the presentation. Harris invited board members and the public to visit serving lines and observe school nutrition operations.
