Get Full Government Meeting Transcripts, Videos, & Alerts Forever!
Get email alerts on the Child Nutrition topic
No spam. Unsubscribe anytime.
District nutrition director seeks local control of USDA commodities, plans resolution to leave cooperative
Summary
Debbie, the district’s Director of Child Nutrition, told the board the department served more than a million meals last year and plans to bring a resolution to withdraw from the Peno (Partners in Nutrition Cooperative) JPA to gain local control over commodity purchasing and support scratch cooking.
“My name is Debbie. I’m the Director of Child Nutrition,” Debbie said as she introduced her team and summarized the department’s work: last year the district served roughly 1.3 million breakfasts, 1.5 million lunches and about 325,000 suppers and snacks and received approximately $13.6 million in state and federal reimbursements.
Debbie described how USDA entitlement funding and commodities work and said the district’s entitlement last year was “just under $600,000.” She explained that Peno (Partners in Nutrition Cooperative), a joint powers authority used by multiple districts to manage entitlement and commodity purchasing, charges administrative costs (cited at about 10.9% of the cooperative’s administration, with the district paying roughly $155,000 in administrative costs last year).
Staff argued that local control of entitlement spending — either through a state distribution center or district management of commodities — would permit more scratch cooking, higher‑quality ingredients and menus tailored to student preferences. Debbie said that could increase meal participation (especially at middle schools), yield higher reimbursements and return savings to school meal programs.
The presentation included logistical notes: the district’s large freezer and broadline distributor relationship with Cisco allow the district to accept and store frozen USDA foods and to distribute them without depending on outside storage, a practical advantage cited by board members.
Debbie told the board she intends to bring a resolution at the next board meeting to withdraw from the Peno JPA; notice for withdrawal must be board‑approved and submitted no later than Oct. 1. She said the district would remain in the cooperative through 2024‑25 while the transition is handled.
Board members asked operational questions — about serving sizes in classroom breakfast programs, taste testing, and how the district monitors waste. Debbie said staff track returns and adjust distributions, and that pilots (including a salad bar pilot at Endeavor) and student taste tests are underway to refine menus.
What happens next: nutrition staff will place a resolution on the next board agenda seeking board approval to begin withdrawal procedures; board action is required to provide formal notice to the cooperative.
