District awards nutrition contracts; vendors and small‑business participation discussed

Miss Freeman briefed the board on school nutrition procurement and several bids the district will forward for approval.

She said the district participates in the Georgia Education Cooperative, which pools buying power across roughly 40 districts to secure lower pricing and shared distribution. "This allows Douglas County along with 40 other districts to work together on a bid to get the best pricing for the district overall," she said.

On the produce and egg bid, Freeman said only one vendor — Royal Produce — bid the line. Board members asked what barriers prevent more local participation; Freeman and Doctor North said the cooperative arrangement requires vendors to distribute across multiple counties, which small farms may not be able to do, but that small vendors can participate as subcontractors through larger distributors or through Common Market arrangements. Freeman said the district aims for "at least 10%" of cooperative purchases across a year to come from local vendors when feasible.

On the larger food supply and distribution bid, Freeman said two bidders offered all line items and Gordon Foodservice won overall; Gold Star was competitive but did not prevail. On the paper and chemical bid, Southeastern Paper won over incumbent Dave Paper. Freeman also listed surplus computer and large equipment slated for disposal.

Board members asked whether the district actively facilitates vendor fairs and local outreach; Freeman said staff have used Common Market and vendor fairs in the past and prefer local sourcing when feasible, while noting the constraints of multi‑county distribution for cooperative bids.

No procurement votes were recorded during the work session; Freeman presented the items as consent or agenda items for later board action.