NORTHFIELD — In hopes of creating a more financially sustainable food service system, Pioneer Valley Regional School District administrators are looking to possibly reconfigure the way its students receive lunch.
During the March School Committee meeting, Assistant Superintendent Gail Healy, who is also the district’s food service director, and Cafeteria Manager at Northfield Elementary School Holly Manson proposed cooking all meals at Pioneer Valley Regional School, and transporting them to the four district elementary schools. However, questions and concerns from attendees has Healy reconsidering.
“The goal was to save people’s jobs when we started, and obviously to save money,” Healy said recently. “Given that there were many questions about the presented plan, I went back to the drawing board to find a plan that would work, have (Bernardston Elementary School) and (Northfield Elementary School) cook on site, and still save money. Nothing is finalized.”
The primary concern is the school lunch fund deficit, which topped $201,000 last year and startled the auditors, Melanson Heath, who said such a deficit for a district the size of Pioneer is enormous. Healy said the current deficit is now $217,000.
In recent years, the district has taken steps to conserve money, such as using U.S. Department of Agriculture dollars to buy fresh produce through the Fresh Fruit and Vegetable Program, and cooking Warwick Community School’s meals at Northfield Elementary and Pearl Rhodes Elementary School’s meals at Bernardston Elementary.
“There were little things that had to be worked out, and with communication we did that,” Healy said of consolidating food services in the past, noting that the current system was designed to “streamline the needs of the district at present.”
During the School Committee meeting, Healy argued that by consolidating further to cook meals for all of the district’s approximately 860 students in Pioneer’s kitchen, the district could buy in bulk to save money.
“This is by no means the answer or the fix,” Healy said during the meeting of the proposed consolidation. “It’s a help.”
However, a few residents expressed concern over the transportation of the food.
“Food safety, especially with the group you’re catering to, which is the young … is the question I’m trying to get answered,” said Bernardston resident Mike Townsley. “We need to find out what the right requirements are and then figure out what it’s going to cost for tools and vehicles.”
Currently, Manson explained the food is transported in thick plastic containers designed for both hot and cold food, and the cafeteria managers are required to chart the meals’ temperatures in logs, once when the food leaves the school where it was cooked and once when it arrives at the school where it will be served.
“We also make sure that each school is equipped with a meal that they can prepare on hand,” Manson said, ensuring there is always enough food to go around.
The School Committee expressed a desire to find a system that would strike a balance between being fiscally conservative and ensuring good health for students.
“I think everybody is really concerned about the health of our children,” School Committee member Sharon Fontaine said after listening to concerns from attendees.
For now, Healy said she will continue to work on reconfiguring the food service system in a fiscally responsible manner.
You can reach Shelby Ashline at: sashline@recorder.com
413-772-0261, ext. 257