Gilmer Schools juggle supplies to keep students fed
Many school districts nationally, regionally and in Georgia have dealt with food shortages since the beginning of the 2021-2022 school year.
The pandemic and its accompanying labor shortages and supply-chain disruptions are some of the main culprits that have left districts scrambling for solutions.
Gilmer County Schools’ director of nutrition Patricia Partin addressed the subject at Monday’s board of education work session and how the impact has been felt locally.
“On the news you’ve probably heard about the metro Atlanta area having some food shortages, but we have just been really blessed. We encounter issues, but we’ve had substitutes and have been able to finagle our menus around to be able to serve a well-balanced meal that’s state approved.”
Because meals must meet certain nutritional standards as directed by the state, Partin and her staff have worked with the district’s distributor U.S. Foods to ensure those standards are met.
“If we were short a particular item, we can substitute with something of the same value,” Partin said after Monday’s meeting. “So it might not be the same brand, but we were able to work with our distributor and find a substitute for that item. If we couldn’t find one or couldn’t get it until later in the week, we’d switch the menus.
“So maybe we’d have that at the end of the week if we had a special delivery. So, we’d move Friday to Monday or vice versa.”
Supplies have also been shared and relocated among schools whenever needs arise.
“If we’re short at one particular school but have that item at another school, we’re switching around and looking at inventories and making sure that we’re covered across the board,” Partin said. “Sometimes we’ve had to take from Peter to serve Paul.”
While Partin noted that the current state of the food supply “isn’t as bad as it was at one point,” it is still difficult to forecast what is to come.
“I’d love to say that the worst is over, but I don’t think so. You’ve got food at the border they can’t get off the barge to get transportation, and you’ve got a shortage in drivers. I think we’ve got a lot more to come, but we’re prepared to do what we need to do,” she said.
“To this point, it’s been kind of crazy and scary at moments, but we’ve just been super blessed. For now, we’re going to keep with what we’ve been doing. I know we’ll be OK.”
Superintendent Dr. Brian Ridley praised Partin and her staff for their work and effort thus far.
“I think Mrs. Partin is being a little humble,” he said. “I don’t want to imply that we’re not blessed because we are, but dealing with the issues that she deals with and the shortages in particular, it’s the result of a lot of hard work on her part.”
School cafeterias pass health inspections
Gilmer’s five schools recently received their bi-yearly unannounced health inspections, which take place as meals are served at the beginning of lunch.
“Each school scored a perfect 100, and I’m very proud of our employees,” Partin said of her “excellent” staff. “That’s hard because you’re serving all these meals and you have a hot food line and someone pretty much has to drop something so they can be with the inspector. There’s no prep, what you see is what you get, and I’m very proud of our employees.”