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Quest tells District 94 board menu changes and outreach boosted free/reduced participation
Summary
Quest representatives and the school's cafeteria manager described menu innovations and outreach that Quest said increased meal participation: the free-and-reduced contract cap (68,494) was reached April 22, breakfast participation grew ~40% year-over-year, and the district served over 60,000 free/reduced meals this year.
Representatives of Quest, the district's food-service partner, told the Community High School District 94 board that menu changes, student outreach and new service models contributed to sharply higher meal participation this year.
Nick Sakaro, a Quest district representative, and on-site staff including manager Isabelle described new offerings such as a gelato station, a "dirty soda" promotion and made-from-scratch items that, they said, appealed to students and boosted participation. Sakaro said breakfast participation rose roughly 40% year over year and that the district this year exceeded 60,000 free or reduced-price lunch meals served.
Administrators and Quest staff noted a contractual cap on free-and-reduced meals of 68,494; Quest representatives said the district hit that cap on April 22 this year, earlier than in prior years. "Hitting the cap is good from the standpoint of students are getting meals but not necessarily good for our bottom line," a Quest representative said, explaining contract assumptions about how many free meals the vendor budgets to serve before billing the district for additional meals.
Board members asked operational questions about access and stigma. Administration and Quest said there are not separate lines for free/reduced students; cashiers identify eligibility by student ID at checkout to avoid stigmatizing students. The board also discussed efforts to expand breakfast participation by moving food to the building entrance and using a breakfast cart to increase access.
Quest said the vendor's contract includes professional learning supports for on-site staff and that the company would continue to work with the district to refine prices, menus and promotions over the summer.
Ending: Board members thanked Quest and on-site staff; no formal vote was required on the presentation, but the board will consider related contract renewals and vendor agreements at future meetings.
