Below is a letter I mailed to each member of the school board. It’s not a particularly exciting letter- just an especially polite request that the board ask a little more of Aramark than we are currently being given. At some point in May, the board is going to reconsider the Aramark contract, and I think that in granting the renewal of this fabulous prize, the district has the right to nutrition info, a fried food exit strategy, and more fruits and vegetables. No biggie. This is a business contract, right? What’s the fun of reviewing a contract if you aren’t going to tweak it to get what you want.
I have heard from an excellent source that Aramark is really working closely with the school district to make improvements to our breakfast and lunch menus. (Note that during the last week of May the second choice lunch is a turkey and cheese on a whole wheat bun!) That’s great, but since this is a business contract, the district should still make it perfectly clear what is expected as we move into the next school year and beyond. Aramark negotiates contracts all over the country to provide school lunches, and guess what? They are willing to respond to reasonable requests to keep these contracts. It’s good business for them, and good for us (literally). It is a tremendous asset to any city to have a district that cares about all aspects of childhood education, including school food. We have such a district.
I tried to think of a way to invite the board members to Ray’s so that I could buy them a drink (Line up those babysitters, I’m completely serious about going to Ray’s this Friday) but I couldn’t think of how to phrase that in this letter without sounding stalker-ish. “Hey, board member, lemme buy you a drink?” Hopefully, they’ll hear about my offer and come on down so I can introduce myself.
Here’s the letter.
Dear Kent City School Board:
From what I understand, the school board will be considering the renewal of the Aramark Food Service contract at some point this month. As a parent with three school age children, I would like to respectfully submit some of my comments for your consideration during the contract discussions. I will most likely be unable to attend the school board meeting and would appreciate your representing my concerns. I know that Aramark has had a good working relationship with our district, and would assume that the contract will be renewed as a result. As the terms of the contract are discussed, I request that you please address the following:
- It would be a great benefit to have access to the nutritional information for the lunch and breakfast items sold in the cafeteria. Aramark has related that they are in the process of making this information available online, perhaps you could discover approximately when that information will be made available, and how best to provide the information in the interim.
- Parents besides myself have expressed a concern over the number of fried foods served in the school, as I am sure the recent food survey will demonstrate. It would be appropriate if Aramark and the school district could create a time table for the withdrawal of fried foods from the cafeteria, an exit strategy of sorts. Due to the prevalent trend towards healthy eating nationwide, Aramark should have several reasonable alternatives to fried food available through Sysco.
- With all due consideration of our budgetary constraints, it is to the advantage of our children to have more fresh fruits and vegetables available during meal times. Unfortunately, many of the current choices and commodity items have added sweeteners and artificial colors. A greater selection of fresh fruits and vegetables coupled with a reduction of processed foods would greatly improve the overall health of meals, and prove worthy of the investment.
Aramark should be commended for the introduction of whole grain breads into the cafeteria and it’s general responsive attitude toward the district officials. Going forward, it would be an asset to the school district to establish some plan to increase healthy food choices. Children are better able to concentrate and learn after a healthful meal. The school board members have an opportunity with the renewal of this contract to set the district on a path toward better eating, which in turn will equate to better learning and a more healthful environment. Thank you very much for your attention to this matter.
Sincerely,
Gwen Rosenberg
