School menus fluid as corporations deal with supplier shortages

On Monday, the buns needed to serve the hotdogs on the Greater Jasper School Consolidated Corporation’s Tuesday menu didn’t show up.

It’s only the second week of school, and according to Food Services Director Katie Sherman, shortages from suppliers can be expected early in the school year as they ramp production back up at the end of summer. But, she’s worried that this may be the trend for a while since suppliers began to have more and more issues providing schools with menu items last spring.

“Shortages have always been a thing,” she explained. “But, they have always been kind of sporadic. A lot of times, we were able to still get it (food) in time for meal service, but last spring, that’s when it really started to hit. That’s when we started seeing the effects of COVID (on supplies).”

In March, Sherman noticed it became harder and harder to find the foods needed to accommodate the menu plans she made each month.

It isn’t easy to find suppliers since the school corporations have to follow USDA guidelines and nutrition requirements. Manufacturers that choose to supply K-12 have to abide by those requirements. In 2020, shutdowns, social distancing guidelines, and other Covid-19-related remediations impacted companies’ ability to provide foods for schools and retail establishments.

Then, when they could return to work or increase production, many manufacturers began to focus on commercial sales with higher profit margins rather than supplying schools.

“Our products have to be whole grain; there are sodium limits, calorie limits. And, along with that, I have to have the documentation,” Sherman said. “So that’s a process that manufacturers have to go through, and that is an expense on their end to get their food certified for our (school) purposes.”

Using Frito Lay as an example of the difference, Sherman pointed out that the Doritos produced for schools are not the same as the Doritos you may purchase at a retail establishment. Doritos supplied to schools are made with whole grains and are reduced fat to fit the dietary guidelines mandated by the USDA.

Another issue has been the lack of employees for food manufacturers as well as suppliers. As these manufacturers struggle with the coronavirus and its effect on employment, many have pulled out of their K-12 lines. “Once they are out, they will likely stay out,” Sherman said. “A lot of the items we are used to serving our kids regularly are now discontinued and may never come back.”

It is also impacting some menu staples like chicken products and the ubiquitous school pizza. “There is so much usage in the K-12 industry,” Sherman said. “I really cannot understand how they are not making pizza.”

To accommodate the expected shortages, Sherman keeps Jasper’s menu relatively simple. However, she’d like to get some new menu items for students and even add scratch cooking back to the process.

Menus are prepared in advance and sent out to parents to plan for their children’s meal needs. However, it can be frustrating when kids are ready to get a particular item for their meals and it has been replaced.

Unfortunately, shortages like the one that derailed plans for Tuesday’s hotdog menu create situations where Sherman has to scramble. Phone calls ensue. “When the delivery driver shows up and doesn’t have what we ordered, that usually means a day of me making phone calls to our distributors and our sales rep and manufacturers trying to figure out what do you have and is it what I need,” she explained.

With the limited number of suppliers, it has affected other area school corporations as well.

“The last three months of school last semester were a nightmare,” said Ora Lee Cotton, Food Service Director at Southwest Dubois County School Corporation. “We couldn’t even find ketchup packets.”

When she couldn’t find what she needed to meet her menu plans at Southwest, Cotton began to purchase some items through commercial sources, adding to the corporation’s food expenditures. This year her suppliers are saying that the shortages will likely continue, but she is hopeful that it will get back to normal soon.

Until then, school menus will likely remain fluid as coordinators scramble to ensure students receive meals that they like to eat that meet USDA guidelines.