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Chicken Marsala, roasted Florida vegetables and even homemade pizza are part of the cafeteria offerings for Santa Rosa County School District students this fall.
Food supplier Chartwells K.12 provides breakfast and lunch to the district’s students in kindergarten through 12th grade. The Charlotte, South Carolina-based grocer replaced longtime grocer Sodexo, which served the district for 27 years.
Travis Fulton, the district’s purchasing and contract administration director, said Chartwell’s K.12 was awarded the $15 million contract for the 2024-2025 fiscal year.
“Every five years we have to re-contract our catering company and this year Chartwells came up with the best bid and the best package. We are excited to see how they will transform our breakfast and lunch,” said Fulton, who added that the district serves meals to about 20,000 students each school day. “There will be some new items on the menu – more home-cooked food and less prepared foods.”
For Carrie Zaremsky, who has five children in the school district, the new food vendor is welcome news.
“I hope the food in the cafeteria tastes better next year and that my kids look forward to breakfast and lunch more,” said the Milton resident, whose children attend Rhodes Elementary, two attend King Middle School and one attends Milton High School.
Zaremsky said her children often say the food in the cafeteria is “not that great.”
“My oldest, who is at Milton High, would only eat pizza or a chicken sandwich, and my youngest, who was 7 last year, would always have peanut butter and jelly,” she said. “Some days they would come home hungry. I always thought if they ate their whole lunch, they shouldn’t come home hungry.”
Chartwells K.12, a division of Compass Group PLC, serves 2 million meals a day to students in approximately 4,500 schools across the country. Santa Rosa is the third school district in Florida that the company serves. Chartwells K.12 also has contracts with Duvall City Schools and Bay County Schools.
Tony Adams, district superintendent of Chartwell’s K.12 Santa Rosa, said students and parents can look forward to a selection of “homemade” foods in the upcoming school year, ranging from pork loin to sausage rolls to chicken ranch wraps.
“Some businesses may buy preheated and served items, but we don’t. Even with our pizza, which we make from scratch, we start with individual items like fresh pizza dough, mozzarella cheese and pepperoni,” he said, noting that new items are added to the menu periodically. “We try to offer foods that students enjoy trying. We’re not going to have the same menu for six years.”
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He pointed out that Chartwells K.12 also offers a Student Choice Program at the high school level, where students can try two different menu items each quarter and vote for their favorite.
“Once we assess student feedback, we will add the new item to the menu as quickly as possible,” Adams said, noting that the company will not make any immediate changes. “The district’s food service staff is learning our preparation methods from the ground up and we don’t want to overwhelm them.”
Chartwell’s K.12 is also aware of the special dietary needs of some students, Fulton said, noting that parents must provide a note from their child’s doctor.
“We offer alternative menu options to all students with documented allergies. Our school administrators typically receive this information from the school nurse and we adjust according to the student’s individual needs,” Adams added.
Zaremsky said her entire family is excited about the new offerings.
“The (Chartwell’s K.12) food photos I saw on the school district’s Facebook page in July looked fresh, delicious and appealing. I think my kids will enjoy it,” she said.
Parents can view Santa Rosa School District’s customized breakfast and lunch menus by downloading the Nutrislice app.
