Planning and preparations underway for shift to local program
Eugene School District 4J is going local, bringing our school food service program in-house after more than 20 years of contracting with a large food services management company.
To prepare for the transition, 4J’s nutrition services team has identified and is working to complete several important steps this spring and summer. These include:
- Hiring a local school food service management team
- Preparing to provide the summer food service program
- Planning and developing initial school menus
- Joining a food purchasing cooperative and planning initial food purchases
- Exploring other food purchasing options and beginning to develop relationships with local food suppliers, farms and services
- Replacing kitchen items previously provided by Sodexo, such as utensils, pans, trays and other kitchen serving items (“smallwares”)
- Acquiring menu software to help ensure menus are compliant with nutrition standards and support students with medically required dietary restrictions
- Coordinating with kitchen staff to establish systems and details of the program
The district will shift to a self-operated student meal services program in late June and July, beginning with the summer food service program. Stay tuned for updates as the transition to in-house nutrition services management progresses.
