A School District suffers from high cost of operation and low-quality of food with the National Breakfast and Lunch Program

Current state and challenges:

A school district is getting many complaints from their staff and students on the delivery, set up and quality of their daily breakfast and lunch program with a food vendor. They are faced with a low student moral, participation and tardiness because of this not to mention the risk of unfavorable audit results conducted by the state. The liability and risk of students getting ill from the food program currently being implemented was another major concern.

Process:

OTP conducts an inspection of their 3 locations to observe and note the current method and procedure related to the delivery, timing and quality of the food given to the students. OTP also starts the process of a comprehensive RFP as per the deadlines and guidelines of the California Department of Education. Upon analysis and audit of the current invoices and reports, as well as the filing deadlines approaching, it is discovered that the school has significant issues that need to be addressed as soon as possible.

Results:

With the administration of a comprehensive RFP approved by CDE, OTP was able to obtain 3 competitive bids as per the CDE guidelines. Vendor interviews and taste tests were conducted with the staff, teachers and students as the quality control group. Certain policies and procedures were put in place to ensure proper communication between the selected vendor and the school food coordinators. As a result of OTP’s involvement, the school district was able to select a viable food vendor which contributed to the overall student morale and participation. The district improved tremendously on the student teacher interaction as well as quality and delivery of food to its four locations. The school was also able to secure a much better contract with improved delivery, quality and guarantees in place.