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RSU 12 details grant-funded freezer project and proposes head-cook role to run on-site food processing
Summary
District leaders described a grant-funded standalone freezer to be installed at Chelsea to expand food processing and storage; the board discussed creating a head-cook position (within the nutrition budget) to manage inventory and R&D for the freezer project.
Superintendent (Superintendent) and Mike, a district nutrition staff member, described a grant-funded standalone freezer planned for installation at the Chelsea kitchen and explained how staff intend to use it to process and store district-prepared meals and prototypes for broader food-program work.
"We would be able to have more freezer space to process a lot free[ze] right to process food and freeze it and then have it available for kids much easier," Superintendent said, explaining the idea to prepare and freeze soups, breakfast items and other minimally processed meals on-site. The superintendent noted the district received a boxed unit awaiting a replacement panel/door before assembly and operation.
Mike and the superintendent said the freezer project is tied to grant activity and partnerships (including prototype work for a local fish program and collaborations with a blueberry commission) and would allow the district to reduce purchases of processed foods by producing more items locally. Mike described an example breakfast-bar product being trialed for freezing and later distribution.
To manage the freezer and associated inventory and outreach, staff proposed creating a head-cook position that would not add a new district-funded FTE outside the nutrition budget but would be a reclassification within existing lanes (head-cook lane vs. cook lane). "We're not actually adding a whole new person," Superintendent said, describing an advertising step and adjustments to existing cook staffing to cover responsibilities across sites.
The board opened discussion on the freezer plan by motion; the superintendent emphasized that the nutrition budget would absorb the role and that the district prefers hiring rather than external agency dependence where possible. Board members asked clarifying questions about who would manage inventory, whether services would be provided beyond students and whether the unit would support research and development work tied to grants.
The board did not finalize hiring details at the meeting; staff said they would advertise and develop a job description consistent with nutrition budget constraints and report back with implementation details.
