Remain Independent - Against All Odds

Date: February 13, 2019 Posted by Amy Mail Twitter Facebook

Schedule a DemoEach spring, foodservice directors as well as district administrators consider changes for the following school year. If your foodservice program is humming along on all cylinders, you may be looking at ways to increase your menu variety or streamline operations. If it's losing revenues, facing declining participation and increasing complaints, you may be considering drastic measures to turn things around. Or worse, your administration may be weighing outsourcing your entire foodservice program to a foodservice management company (FSMC) without your knowledge or input.

Foodservice management companies may seem like an easy solution to plaguing problems. Just turn over your program and let someone else worry about it. But it's not that simple.

While there are many good, ethical foodservice management companies, it’s important to understand they have totally different objectives than independent, self-operated school foodservice programs. They are profit-centered corporations, with profitability as their ultimate goal, sometimes at the expense of their client schools.

What do these companies generally mean for districts?

1. You sacrifice any and all revenues your program may generate. That may not be a big deal to programs running in the red, but you forfeit any potential revenues from changes you may implement.
2. Your staff is no longer your staff. FSMCs typically result in the district's foodservice staff being laid off and then rehired as employees of the outside vendor, often at a lower wage. This affects employee morale and could lead to a potential public relations situation for your district.
3. You lose control of your program, which is often less than ideal for aspiring foodservice directors. These corporations charge fees based on a school’s desired outcomes for its foodservice program, with the goal to come in on budget. They tend to cut programs to the bare minimum and may not be open to your requests for improvements. 
4. They increase their revenues through add-on services such as onsite staff, staff training and nutrition-in-the-classroom support. It could cost your district more money than initially thought, which doesn't resolve budget concerns you may have had previously.

A Better Way

Instead of sacrificing control and profits, partner with NutriStudents K-12 to strengthen your existing program and remain self-operated. Your staff remain your staff. You have a library of fully compliant menu weeks to keep students engaged and participating all year. And you have productivity tools and resources to help your program run smoothly, save on food costs and build participation. Perhaps best of all, you can reinvest your profits back into your foodservice program. NutriStudents K-12 doesn't replace foodservice directors -- we help them!

NutriStudents K-12 pricing is transparent and affordable, and generally falls within foodservice directors' budgetary authority. 

Learn more through these videos:

• Overview
• System demonstration
• Why work with NutriStudents K-12? To increase participation and revenues
• Why work with NutriStudents K-12? To streamline operations and control costs
• Why work with NutriStudents K-12? To ensure compliance

Contact us today to schedule a guided system tour.