KANE COUNTY, Ill. (WBBM NEWSRADIO) -- Kaneland School District 302 is no longer providing a la carte menu items at either Kaneland High School or Kaneland Harter Middle School.
District officials say they’re dealing with a double edged sword of staffing shortages and supply chain issues.
“It's gotten better, but it's still a struggle,” said Gigi Gochee-Statler, Food Service Manager at Kaneland School District 302. “What the staffing shortage has done is made it so that the variety is not as big as it has been in the past.”
Typically there would be 19 food service employees between the high school and middle school, but because of several recent retirements there are now several unfilled vacancies.
“[The high school] serves a wider a la carte selection, a lot of build-your-own bars and things like that,” Gochee-Statler said. “And that if I don't have the manpower to run that, we may not have that on a given day.”
Another problem is procurement.
Supply shortages have made it difficult to get foods that meet the state’s health requirements.
“If I can't get those, because let's say the purveyor is running short on them or my supplier doesn't have enough inventory in-house, then I have to scramble to try and find another option to replace those with,” Gochee-Statler added.
She told WBBM the fill rate with one of her providers is about 65% to 70%.
The good news is District 302 is still able to provide the required nutrition for the hot lunch program that it participates in at the middle school.
Now the district is focused on hiring more cafeteria workers.
“We increased the salaries at the beginning of the school year and we offer health insurance, so we don't believe it's currently a financial issue,” said Associate Superintendent Julie-Ann Fuchs.
Those interested in working at the Kaneland Food Service Department can apply online at www.Kaneland.org
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