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SCHOOL DISTRICT’S FOOD SERVICE MOVES INTO THE BLACK Superintendent of Schools Alberto Carvalho announced last week that Miami-Dade County Public Schools’ Food and Nutrition Department, which began the year anticipating the need for a $4 million subsidy from the school district, has turned around its operations to where it is solidly in the black. “This represents an outstanding collaborative effort by a number of District departments during difficult financial times,” said Carvalho. “Food and Nutrition has worked with the Budget Office to spot trends earlier. Procurement Management helped obtain lower-priced contracts, and Information Technology has assisted with improved information tracking. School Operations, principals and our food service managers have stepped up to the plate to help guarantee efficiencies in food services at all school sites.” A number of measures were implemented to achieve this turnaround, including stricter inventory controls, maintaining inventories on an “as needed” basis, and reducing the number of entrée choices at breakfast and lunch from three to two. Additionally, contracts with vendors were changed to lower the cost of distributing food products to schools. The District previously paid $2.35 to distribute each case of food to schools; that has been reduced to $1.26 per case, cutting distribution costs by nearly half. “We’ve been analyzing all of the costs in our kitchens, and the nickels and dimes have added up to a successful turnaround,” said Penny Parham, Administrative Director, Food and Nutrition, who noted that, in a system that serves 50 million meals per year, saving a penny of operating costs on each meal results in a half-million dollars of savings to the District. “This turnaround was aided by incredible support from principals and schools to reach more students who qualify for free or reduced meals, helping to boost the number of federal dollars available to food service and by the dedication of our staff,” said Parham. In spite of a year of belt-tightening, the District has been able to continue serving quality, healthy meals, and has not cut back on important nutritional components such as fresh produce. ### 09-JJS/398
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