Hot potato in the school cafeteria: more districts outsource their food services, but some raise questions about personnel relations and savings

School Administrator, Sept, 2004 by Kate Beem

Because self-sufficiency had been a primary goal of the contractual arrangement, Bunton said the school board opted to revert to self-operation after four years. The district bought out its contract with Marriott, and the department has operated in the black for the last several years, even setting aside some money to replace older equipment.

Business Acumen

Certain costs related to running a food service program are fixed, and conscientious food service directors can exercise as much purchasing power as large companies by looking for the best deals, says Diane Smith, manager of food services in the Shawnee Mission School District in Overland Park, Kan. Her self-run department serves 24,500 meals daily, and she oversees 54 kitchens and 340 employees.

"It's basically running a business," she says. "It's a huge business. To me, whether you're making widgets or doing this, a lot of it is the same concept."

Like any businessperson, Smith regularly monitors her department's expenditures. She tracks how much food is prepared and how much is consumed. She checks portion sizes and looks for waste. When food service positions become vacant, she evaluates whether that position should be filled. And she constantly assesses her department's marketing and customer service techniques, looking for areas of improvement.

"In my district, I just try to run the program," Smith says. "I feel that we're there to serve the children."

RELATED ARTICLE: Competencies for food service chiefs.

"Outsourcing" is such a buzzword these days that when a school district's food service department hits troubled waters, there's often talk of hiring an outside company to take over.

But food service experts, such as Deborah Carr of the National Food Service Management Institute at the University of Mississippi, say districts should take a look at the leadership of their food operation before discontinuing a self-operated program.

Congress authorized the institute in 1989 to provide information and services to help improve school nutrition programs. To that end, research scientists at the institute are studying what works and what doesn't. Over the last decade, the institute has gathered a list of competencies essential for school nutrition directors and managers. The competencies and skills are outlined in two research reports available on the institute's website.

Hiring a food service director with experience and skills can save money over time and ease the angst of worrying about whether to hire a proprietary management firm. "In today's world, with discussions of obesity and accountability, why would you not want the most competent individual you could get?" Carr says.

The institute's reports include 12 areas in which school administrators should be well-versed, ranging from customer service to food production and procurement to personnel management and marketing. Each area is broken down into competencies, and each competency includes detailed knowledge and skills that food service managers need under their belts.