Aramark, Duval County schools set to build $15M central kitchen

Nation's Restaurant News, Sept 6, 2004

JACKSONVILLE, FLA. -- Duval County Public Schools and Aramark are preparing to build a $15 million, 70,000-square-foot central kitchen that would become the major processing facility for the district's 160 schools.

Chris Lambertson, district manager for Aramark for the Duval County schools, said the project currently is in the design phase. Groundbreaking is expected to take place this December, with the kitchen scheduled to be up and running by December 2005. About 70 people would work in the facility, which will be located near the Paxon School for Advanced Studies here.

Noting that only about half of Duval County's schools have kitchens, Lambertson said the central kitchen would provide several benefits for the district, including consistent meals and purchasing efficiencies.

"First of all, we'd have all the schools serving the same things," Lambertson said. "They would be using the same ingredients and following the same nutritional guidelines.

"It would improve food safety and guarantee product consistency and quality. Another benefit would be better cost control. There would be a cost savings in terms of labor and food, and there would be less waste."

Lambertson said the district expects to save $11 million over the first five years of the facility's operation.

More potential savings could be realized in new school construction, he added. The district's enrollment, currently at 129,000 students, has been growing at a rate of about 1.5 percent annually, with 1- to 3-percent growth projected for "the foreseeable future," he said.

"We have two new schools coming on line this year," he noted. "Those schools and any future ones we need can be designed without full kitchens, which can save on design and construction costs."

Although the cost of the $15 million kitchen would be borne by Duval County taxpayers, the district and Aramark have collaborated on the facility's design.

"The idea of central production is not a new idea, but a number of the larger school districts are doing it," Lambertson added. "We looked at what a number of other districts are doing, such as Louisville, [Ky.]; Memphis, [Tenn.]; Montgomery County, Md.; and Minneapolis."

Duval County already has consolidated baking and some food production in four schools. When the new facility comes on line, it would absorb the work done in those four units.