Supply chain woes hit school cafeterias, leaving administrators scrambling to make meals

The supply chain shortages hitting the entire country are leaving school cafeterias short of items from utensils to syrup packets.

Students sit separated by plastic dividers during lunch at Wyandotte County High School in Kansas City, Kan., on the first day of in-person learning on March 31.Charlie Riedel / AP fileOct. 16, 2021, 3:33 AM CDTBy Teaganne Finn

WASHINGTON — Turkey for tacos, chicken products, orange juice and meal trays are just a few of the items that Shonia Hall, director of school nutrition services for the Oklahoma City Public Schools, said she can’t find.

The latest victim of the supply chain slowdown is the school cafeteria, leaving nutrition administrators scrambling to get proper meals on the table for students as they return to the classroom.

A few weeks ago, Hall’s distributor couldn’t get sporks, spoons or forks and she had to run to her local Sam’s Club to buy 60,000 of each “to get us through for a few days in hopes the truck would show up,” Hall said in an interview.

“We can’t just hope. We have to be proactive,” she said. I can’t feed kids without utensils, right?”

Such shortages and being forced to turn to retail stores to fill the void when distributors don’t come are becoming more prevalent at schools across the country.

“It’s an additional cost to your budget, to your program,” said Hall, who adds that she is grateful for the U.S. Department of Agriculture’s National School Lunch Program, which has increased its reimbursement to schools trying to meet meal demands…….More Here

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Supply chain woes hit school cafeterias, leaving administrators scrambling to make meals

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