Figure 1. Challenges Named by Respondents Across the Procurement Lifecycle
Outreach, Solicitation, and Award
Market Forecasting and Drafting
Contract Management
System-Level Enabling Factors
High prices and budget contraints
Supply chain and availability
Insufficient vendors and few bids
Quality of foods
Delivery minimums, distribution, and timing
Nutrition requirements/ meal pattern compliance
Bid complexity and administrative burden
Limiting purchasing methods and options
Inventory, equipment, and limited storage
Different local, state, and federal rules
Staff turnover and lack of staffing
Unclear processes
Navigational challenges for small and rural school districts
Sourcing sufficient variety of foods
Buy American and USDA Foods
Food waste
Lack of support from state agency
Making local purchasing work
Named by at least 5% of respondents
Impact of Challenges
Top Challenges When asked to elaborate, respondents found these challenges to have a significant impact on day- to-day operations. Nearly a third of respondents shared that high prices and budget constraints have resulted in many of their programs running into deficit. A finance and operations director from the Southeast region shared, “We have limited options so we pay more and can offer less to our students. Our food and nutrition department has a deficit each year resulting in costs which must come from our local budget.” Respondents shared that tight budgets, including as a result of higher food prices, are impacting school nutrition operations, including staffing. A kitchen manager from the Midwest shared, "We are over budget for our program and [thus] spend less on staff pay..." In the Atlantic region, a school nutrition director wrote, "Higher food costs can lead to having to make other budget cuts like labor." Staff shortages limit the ability to prepare healthier, more complex recipes, as one respondent from the Western region shared, “Many schools are experiencing shortages of kitchen staff and food service workers. This can make it difficult to prepare meals from scratch...with fresh ingredients that require more labor. It can also lead to increased reliance on pre-packaged or processed foods.”
11 Procuring Good Food at School: From Contracts to Lunch Trays |
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