The Gilmer County School System’s partnership with Sysco continues to keep students fed.
The two parties have been working together since mid-June, and the partnership was spurred by US Foods’ departure from the K-12 sector. While there were some issues obtaining certain items in the first months of the school year, groceries continue to be delivered.
“Our partnership has been a good thing, and they’re continuing to work with us on K-12 products,” said Gilmer County Schools’ nutrition director Patricia Partin.
“The grocery situation in itself is a challenge for anybody. For the most part, we don’t have issues trying to purchase what we need for our menus. On the times we do when they’re out of something or there’s a shortage and we can’t get it, then we move our menus around to compensate. It may not come in on Monday, but we may order from our other source, and it gets here Wednesday, so we’ll move (serve) that product at the end of the week.”
In addition to Sysco, Gilmer Schools work with Bimbo and Royal Food Service. The former supplies fresh bread, while the latter provides produce.
Earlier in the year, the district had issues purchasing potatoes and lettuce. Partin noted that has subsided recently.
“Although white potatoes were tough to find, and we did have some days that we could not have the potato bar at the high school for example, for the most part, we’ve been able to supply that. That is actually looking a lot better than a month ago,” Partin said.
“Lettuce might not be as accessible, but we still have our salad bar at the high school. Sometimes it’s touch and go. At one point, we were worrying about the rolls we serve, but that has not been an issue.”
Forecasting and planning have been Partin’s best weapons against possible shortages. For example, the district ordered multiple items on its Thanksgiving menu back at the end of August.
“Since we’ve had kind of a hard time purchasing rolls, we bought some a little bit ahead and it turned out OK,” Partin said. “Sysco is real good to say, ‘OK guys, as it’s getting closer to time, you may want to look at this.’
“Gilmer County is very fortunate that we have a freezer big enough to store a little extra so we can be more proactive when ordering stuff.”
There was a turkey shortage this Thanksgiving season, but it did not seem to bother the majority of students. While turkey was available to them at all schools during last Thursday’s Thanksgiving meal, elementary school students were given a chicken option.
Schools were not able to return to the pre-pandemic tradition of inviting parents to eat with their elementary school children, but all the students were fed.
“It turned out wonderfully,” Partin said. “The elementary kids preferred the chicken drumstick over turkey. When we serve that breaded drumstick, that’s always a huge participation day for us. I intentionally picked that product because it’s a favorite. Although we didn’t get the number of turkeys we ordered, it ended up working out perfect.”
Gilmer, Pickens and Fannin continue to work together as the 515 Mountain Area Group. The partnership improves their purchasing power while still allowing each district to submit its own grocery and supply lists. Gilmer has also worked with Lumpkin and Dawson counties to keep its kitchens stocked.
“We’ll continue to fine-tune our needs so that Sysco has those items available for us,” Partin said. “We’re really trying to work with those districts.
“While we’ve dealt with shortages, it seems to fade in and out. If something is short, there’s always something else we can use to compensate. There’s always other options, which is good.”