Beyond COVID: Foodservice Planning for the Future at Mauston

COVID-19 created many challenges for foodservice teams. For example, districts faced new hurdles getting the foods ordered due to supply chain disruptions and thus substitutions and outages were common. Other examples include the extra steps and care had to be taken to wrap foods, deliver meals to classrooms and even sanitize student water bottles. It was (is!) a daunting time to have the job of feeding children nutritious meals during a pandemic.

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One of the greatest concerns that emerged was the significant drop in meal participation by students attending school in-person. While COVID-19 created some parent concerns around safety and social distancing requirements, for districts like the Mauston School District (Wisconsin), they were able to serve student meals at no cost thanks to emergency USDA funding.

At Mauston, beyond feeding students (and adults) safely, their program – like many in similar communities – had to stay current with food trends such as those in quick and fast-food restaurants in the community. This, while also incorporating the scratch-made and baked meals important to the families they serve.

To help them better identity opportunities to strengthen the foodservice program post-COVID, Sue Goyette, Mauston District Business Manager, called Pro•Team. “We wanted to seek out a fresh perspective on ways we could improve our student participation, enhance our offerings, and to address financial and operating inefficiencies.”

The Fresh Eye Review with Pro•Team helped provide new ideas for growth and expansion, as well as to increase participation through menu and marketing strategies.

 A few examples included:

  • Financial – Recommendations for achieving a positive fund balance through assessment of Meals per Labor Hour (MPLH) and development of Key Performance Indicators (KPIs) specific to Child Nutrition

  • Inventory management and purchasing compliance recommendations

  • Menus – Focus on menu planning and consider tools available to streamline processes, reports, and beyond

  • Enhance food and COVID-19 safety – take their already strong practice to the next level

  • Recommendations to the Summer Food Service Program (SFSP) menus and a la carte offerings for compliance, efficiencies, and customer satisfaction

  • Marketing – Look at everything from website to kitchen clutter and develop Mauston “brand guidelines” to strengthen, improve and drive participation

  • Equipment and facilities – Trigger planning today to enhance the space and design, as well as plan for responsible equipment replacement

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Regardless of COVID, Mauston is looking to the future. They knew starting the process now to evaluate and plan for improvements for the coming school year was the smart thing to do to. Sue comments on next steps: “We have laid out a template for changes over the course of the next year to gradually enhance our food service experience.” With Pro•Team’s help, they now have practical list of priorities they can merge into their annual planning.

Fresh Eyes, Case StudyHannah Gelhar