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Food services report: summer meal program, rising costs and procurement challenges
Summary
Sherry, leading food services, told the board the district feeds more students post‑pandemic under CEP, serving roughly 60–120 breakfasts and 100–150 lunches on some days, and warned that Buy American rules and higher prices complicate purchasing and menu choices.
Sherry (food services staff) presented the leadership report focused on summer meal operations and procurement challenges. She explained that the district participates in the Community Eligibility Provision (CEP) and that participation has increased meal counts: "we feed more kids than we did before the pandemic because we're a CEP where we feed all kids for free." Sherry described typical summer-service volumes (breakfasts and lunches) and said the program serves ages 2–18, with summer service running 16 days before other providers take over the remainder of the summer feeding schedule.
The report highlighted rising food costs and federal procurement rules. Sherry said USDA "Buy American" requirements are becoming more prevalent and complicate sourcing, particularly for fruits and vegetables the district does not produce domestically. She described menu and waste-management strategies the district uses to stay within reimbursement rules and discussed the district’s use of a summer EBT-like program (referred to as Sunbucks) for qualifying families, noting that family income documentation is required for limited qualification.
