Submitted by Kathy Burns, Nassau County School Superintendent
Schools in Communities: News from the Nassau County School District
Nassau County Food & Nutrition Services has a new addition to its fleet- its very own food truck! The name is Grab & Grub and the slogan is “Fresh food fast!” This new addition will help grow our meal participation and will serve our district in several ways.
During the school year it will rotate daily to each high school to serve a fresh new menu selection. It will travel to all schools for special events and field days and be available for catering events for the school district. The food truck will help serve as a mobile feeding unit during the summer months when transportation is the greatest hurdle for serving more healthy nutritious meals to students who need it most.
Additionally Grab & Grub will offer specialty breakfast items in select locations to try and target an increase in breakfast participation. Breakfast is the most important meal of the day and research shows it has a strong influence on learning, memory and test scores that can ultimately enhance the education of our Nassau County students. And finally, the food truck will serve as an emergency feeding vehicle for Nassau County in times of disaster and shelter feeding as needed.
Like us on Facebook @nassaunutrition to find out more and follow where Grab & Grub will be headed next!
The Nassau County Food and Nutrition Services Department operates under a $5M budget. Revenue comes from two different sources – the federal government and from the sale of lunches to children and adults. The Food and Nutrition Services Department receives zero dollars from local taxes or from the school board general fund. The federal government reimburses Food Service for meals served as long as they meet the federal standards. Approximately 40% of their expenditures are payroll, 40% to the cost of food and 20% for other expenses such as maintenance, equipment, cleaning supplies, and paper products. Food Service is a non-profit organization, meaning all money that is generated is put back into the business in the form of improved food quality, presentation, cafeteria updates and renovations. Over the last 5 years the Food Service Department has invested over $1M on capital improvements from walk-in freezers, ovens, new serving lines and outdoor dining spaces.