2020 was the year of quick pivots and short deadlines. This was especially true for school nutrition programs that went from self-serve salad bars, to home delivery using district busses, to “unitized” (individual) meals for physically-distanced students in classrooms. This task hasn’t been easy, nor has it been cheap. School nutrition programs have needed new equipment, more storage capacity, and much more packaging.
Most schools in our region have started using Oliver trays (a “fully integrated meal packaging system”) to streamline an otherwise very tedious process. WNESU recently received an automated sealer, further speeding up the process of packaging the hundreds of meals that leave their kitchen daily.
Thanks to the CARES Act funding provided by Congress back in March, funds were made available to states to support the costs associated with making big programmatic changes. Food Connects worked closely with Ali West (Brattleboro Regional Food Service Director, Fresh Picks Cafe) to identify the needs of all the schools in the Windham Southeast School District and apply for the funding.
In the central kitchens at Academy School and Brattleboro Union High School, the school nutrition programs were able to add additional refrigeration capacity. This will give them more flexibility when ordering fresh produce, as well as when making and storing bulk meals. Putney Central School’s nutrition program used the funding to purchase a mini-van to distribute meals. Transportation is another new bottleneck in programs’ operations. Having a dedicated vehicle for delivering meals to distribution sites and for transporting supplies will help ensure meals can get out on time.
In Guilford, new mobile waste sorting stations will make classroom meals a little more manageable while still making it easy for students to recycle and compost their leftovers. They also used some reimbursement funds to help pay for the new outdoor gear that was purchased for students and the materials used in building their outdoor learning structures. Lastly, Academy School is expanding its capacity to cook outdoors with students by installing fire pits around the campus.
Each of these purchases goes a little way in helping schools operate during these difficult times. Here at Food Connects, we’re excited to see the new equipment put to good use in 2021 as we continue to support the evolving needs of schools.