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Washington Unified highlights new scratch‑cooking goals, served 1.4M meals last year; board approves $1M piggyback pizza contract
Summary
Food Services staff told the board the district served about 7,500 meals daily and 1,412,494 meals last school year, described expansion of scratch cooking and equipment upgrades, and the board approved a piggyback pizza procurement resolution with an estimated $1,000,000 annual cost.
Food Services Director Amber Dixon and Supervisor Steven Meyer told the Washington Unified board on April 20 that the department served about 7,500 meals on a typical school day and reported 1,412,494 meals served last school year (breakfast, lunch, supper and snack). The presentation described staff counts (28 cafeteria assistants, 12 cashiers, 9 cook managers), recent equipment upgrades (combi ovens), a temperature‑monitoring system to reduce waste, and a goal to increase scratch cooking to roughly 80% of menu items next year.
"We serve about 7,500 meals a day," Steven Meyer said, describing high daily volume and relatively lean kitchen staffing. Amber Dixon outlined programs that include breakfast, lunch, after‑school supper/snack (CACFP), special‑diet accommodations and summer meal service. She described several grants that supported the work — Fresh Fruit and Vegetable Program awards (three sites), a Kitchen Infrastructure & Training grant, a Taste Incentive grant used for student taste tests, and partnerships with local vendors for fresh, un‑frozen pizza and other items.
Board and public questions focused on how special‑diet accommodations are processed (nurse notification, parent contact, a signed medical form; Dixon said a licensed physician must sign accommodations and the district recently allowed a dietitian to sign the form), the placement of bottle filling stations to address water taste concerns, and how increased participation funds are reinvested into equipment and scratch cooking.
On a separate but related action, the board adopted Resolution 2526‑41 to piggyback on a Vacaville Unified contract for pizza product procurement, with an estimated cost of $1,000,000 to be paid from the Food Services fund. Staff said piggybacking helps secure competitive pricing.
Trustees and members of the public praised the changes and noted that taste‑testing and menu adjustments appear to be increasing meal participation at multiple sites.
