Posted by Member, a resident of San Ramon, on Jan 26, 2012 at 8:13 am

I'm all for doing things locally but the changes in food service are going to rapidly get out of control. The district is starting to change from a model where they hire professional food service companies (who make sauces and other products in large economical batches) to try and do it themselves. They are using a district kitchen that doesn't have the capacity or staff to keep up with the work. Already Mr. Machi is hiring is his former friends and co-workers to staff a small expansion under the radar. Later they'll find that they need a larger kitchen, larger staff and a full operation. There is no way that the District will be competitive with the industrial catering operations. They just don't have the economies of scale. I agree the kids shouldn't eat tater tots. Those are choices I'm sure the District can still make with the current service provider.

Then of course the obvious, what happens when the grant money runs out. They can't change back once the genie is out of the bottle and our kids have been exposed to fresh food. That's when the real expansion will begin. I try to feed my kids nutritious food at home. A small lunch, even if not optimal, will not impact them. Let's remember we're all blessed and fortunate to live in the San Ramon Valley. This is not the primary meal for most if not all of our students.

The District Kitchen will become a huge sink hole of money if this expansion continues. This article is a public relations stunt to set this in motion. As someone who works with outsourcing I can tell you that the estimates provided are optimistic. Numbers are generated that support the desired outcome. It's almost never cheaper to do it in house. If this goes forward look at the total budget 5 years from now. It will be staggering.

The district is asking us to approve a bond measure (again). I want the money going to go to our children and education, not kitchen equipment with a huge staff and infrastructure. If you have to build buildings build Science and Technology labs, not kitchens.