Claremont
The School Board voted Wednesday after hearing the recommendation of the food services committee — two board members and four staff members — for The Abbey Group over Fresh Picks Cafe of Manchester. The school district has been providing its own food service but officials have been discussing moving to an outside service for a few years. The food services committee has spent several months looking at the different options.
In a phone interview Thursday, Scott Choiniere, vice president of operations with The Abbey Group, talked about the changes.
“We will add a fruit and vegetable bar and everything is fresh made. Nothing gets trucked in premade,” Choiniere said. “We also use a lot of locally sourced food.”
The revenue and expense budget prepared by Abbey includes $30,000 for local food purchases. The company will also invest in some new equipment for the fruit and salad bars, Choiniere said.
Other improvements will include a computerized point-of-sale system to speed up the ordering for students and Choiniere said they want to institute an online payment system.
The five-year agreement with Abbey Group requires annual renewals, at which time the district can opt out without penalty.
SAU 6 Business Manager Mike O’Neill said the arrangement will not cost taxpayers.
“They are estimating an increase in sales with more variety and fresher food,” O’Neill said. “I think it is attainable.”
The revenue when the school ran the service was about $625,000 annually and required a transfer of about $10,000 to $15,000 each year to cover shortfalls, O’Neill said. Abbey is projecting revenues of about $781,000, including state and federal reimbursements, and expenses of nearly $771,000 for a surplus of $10,000.
“Any deficit we will cover,” Choiniere said. “There is no cost to the district.”
The cost of the meals for students paying the full amount will be $1.75 for breakfast and $3 for lunch.
The 13 school district employees who worked in food service and lost their jobs with the change will be given an opportunity to interview with The Abbey Group, both Choiniere and O’Neill said.
“We want to maintain as many of the employees as we can,” Choiniere said. “If they have the experience and can do the job, we want to hire them.”
Committee members Brian Rapp, who is also the School Board chairman, and Michele Pierce told the full board why they strongly recommended Abbey despite Fresh Picks Café estimate of a greater surplus each year.
Abbey scored slightly better, 93 vs. 90, on an evaluation sheet that looked at several variables, including menus, food quality and portion size, budget, and innovation, promotion and marketing.
While Fresh Picks scored higher on budget, the committee said the menu and food quality were determining factors for them.
Rapp said the committee visited different schools that contracted with the companies and looked at which provided more local and nutritious food.
“Abbey definitely did that better,” he said. “Our kids deserve quality and quality will absolutely be there for the students.”
Pierce said the budget is only one component.
“I believe people want better quality over the long haul,” Pierce said.
Ellie Feleen, a teacher at Maple Avenue Elementary School and committee member, told the board the overriding goal is to provide healthy and nutritious meals to students, and the committee saw a huge difference in the quality served at the schools they visited.
“There were many reasons why we chose Abbey. To only focus on budget is missing the point,” Feleen said.
O’Neill also pointed out that any surplus can only be reinvested in the food service program. It can’t be used as general fund revenue.
Patrick O’Grady can be reached at pogclmt@gmail.com
