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Board considers renewing Food-to-School cooperative contracts and approves a 5-cent lunch increase
Summary
At its June 1 meeting the Whitley County Consolidated Board of Trustees discussed renewing participation in the Food-to-School purchasing cooperative, outlined vendor contracts for 2026–27, and heard a proposal to raise lunch prices by 5 cents next school year.
Lisa Snore, presenting on school nutrition, asked the board to approve renewing the district’s participation in the Food-to-School purchasing cooperative and to renew associated vendor contracts for the 2026–27 school year.
Snore said the cooperative serves more than 100 districts statewide and uses a lead district—Northwest Allen County—to administer procurement. She listed the district’s current vendors and their roles, saying Gordon's Food Service is the prime vendor for processed USDA foods, HPS handles procurement and small wares, Commercial Foods supplies about 10% of items (drinks and à la carte items), Alpha Bakery provides bakery items, and Dairy Farmers of America supplies milk and dairy.
"The goal of the Food-to-School purchasing cooperative is to obtain substantial savings by leveraging buying power on cafeteria food supplies and services," Snore said.
She proposed a modest 5-cent increase to student lunch prices for 2026–27 to help offset rising costs: elementary lunches to $2.60, Indian Springs Middle School lunches to $2.75, and Columbia City High School lunches to $2.85. Snore said there will be no increase to milk prices and asked the board to approve the change.
Snore also described the district’s universal free breakfast program: the district completed its second year of universal free breakfast and increased participation by about 70% from the 2024–25 school year, serving roughly 700 students daily across the district. She said the program is funded primarily through federal reimbursements tied to meals served and that the district plans to continue universal breakfast "as long as we can afford it."
Looking ahead, Snore noted upcoming nutrition guideline changes effective July 1, 2027 that will tighten sugar and sodium levels for breakfast items; she said the food-service team will offer more scratch-made meals, introduce new recipes and continue a monthly "Try It Tuesday" tasting program for students.
During board Q&A members asked whether the district qualified for the federal summer feeding program; Snore said most buildings do not meet the qualifying census thresholds and the district is not offering summer feeding at every site. A board member added that United Way and local partners are working to provide summer lunch sites in the county.
The board did not vote on the cooperative renewal or the price change at this meeting; Snore asked for board approval of the 5-cent increase going into the 2026–27 school year.
