Local schools scrambling to adapt to supply chain food shortage | News

KANSAS CITY, MO (KCTV) — Schools that pride themselves on feeding kids a balanced diet now find themselves facing a food shortage.

Earlier in the pandemic, COVID-19 caused supply chain challenges for grocery stores and restaurants. Now, it’s schools taking the hit as kids go back to the classroom full-time. It’s happening across the metro and across the nation.

At Davidson Elementary, 5-year-old Miles Livingston was intently engaged in a game Thursday evening. He gets a balanced diet at home and actually likes the healthy stuff. His favorite food? Pineapple. His mom is now concerned kids won’t get all the food groups in the cafeteria.

“Making sure families have adequate food is huge, especially if kids can’t get that at home,” said Summer Livingston.

“We are definitely in crisis and it’s just pure chaos. We’re trying to find the food,” said Jenna Knuth the North Kansas City Schools Director of Food and Nutrition Services. “Not being able to offer a fruit and vegetable is absolutely heartbreaking.”

She said kids in the North Kansas City School District are not going hungry, but menus will change on the fly. No carrots? Okay, corn. Or, one day, maybe no veg at all.

Knuth said the district is struggling with distributors.

“Sysco, another one of our big distributors, backed out a week before school started. They dropped us,” said Knuth.

North Kansas City Schools sent an alert to parents Thursday but they’re far from the only district in a pinch.

Blue Valley’s spokesperson wrote that they’re managing with the “occasional substitution.” A letter to parents in the Hickman Mills School District indicated “substitutions will be common.” Liberty Schools wrote to parents there this week, indicating they are especially struggling with juice and milk, and encouraged parents to send kids to school with bottled water.

Knuth recognizes distributors are short drivers to deliver and warehouse staff to stock the trucks, in addition to getting shorted by manufacturers also in a staffing bind. She knows demand surged when schools brought kids back to the classroom full-time, but she speculates there’s a priority problem as well.

“The K-12 market has much lower margins. We do a higher volume but with much lower margins,” Knuth said.

She’s now trying to get government officials to offer incentives to distributors to make schools a higher priority.

KCTV5 asked Sysco for a response to Knuth’s remarks. A representative with Sysco sent us the following statement:

“Sysco regrets that we have had to delay or pause service for a limited number of customers in various locations. This is mainly due to unprecedented labor shortages in the industry. We are aggressively recruiting delivery partners and warehouse associates, and our goal is to restore service to our impacted customers as soon as possible. We apologize for the inconvenience this has caused our customers. We expect this to be a temporary situation.”

The statement did not address anything specific to the K-12 concerns raised.

Below is the memo sent to parents in the Liberty Public Schools:

“Our Nutrition Services Department has informed us that we are currently experiencing some food/drink shortages in our cafeterias throughout the district. School meal programs nationwide are experiencing many of the same supply chain issues that have impacted restaurants and grocery stores throughout the pandemic. Our team has closely monitored these challenges since the start of the pandemic and have successfully navigated the issue up to this point. Specifically for LPS, milk and juice items seem to be the items most affected at this time. Families are encouraged to send their student(s) with water bottles in the event these items would be unavailable. Water will also be made available for students at school sites during breakfast/lunch times. Please know that our school nutrition team is committed to ensuring students have access to healthy meals each school day. We thank our students and families in advance for your patience and flexibility, as we will likely have to make some last-minute changes to our regular menus, based on availability. It is our hope that these challenges are short-term and we are back to providing a full menu of food and drink items very soon.”

An email sent to Hickman Mills School District parents reads as follows:

“HMC-1’s Nutrition Service teams are excited to have students back in schools and serving healthy school meals to fuel students for success every day. As students return this fall, it is important for families to know that school meal programs nationwide are experiencing many of the same supply chain issues that have impacted restaurants and grocery stores throughout the pandemic.

“The HMC-1 Nutrition Service Department has closely monitored and responded to these challenges since the start of the pandemic and have successfully navigated issues up to this point. Just as families may have to make substitutions on grocery lists, schools will have to make some last-minute changes to our regular menus, based on product availability.

“We ask for patience and grace as we sort through these supply chain issues, knowing in advance that we may not have the same number of menu choices typically offered to our students. Menu substitutions will be common based on availability of food. We may run out of a certain selection although the goal is for students at the end of our lunch periods to have the same options as the children who eat earlier in the day.

“We remain committed to ensuring students continue to have access to healthy meals each school day, are nourished and ready to learn. It is our sincere hope that these challenges are short term and we get back to providing a full menu very soon.”

The full text of the letter sent to North Kansas City Schools parents is below:

“The primary goal of North Kansas City Schools’ Food and Nutrition Services Department is to ensure all students are nourished and ready to learn. While this commitment will be maintained, it is important that we make you aware of recent challenges facing school meal programs nationwide. Unfortunately, the same supply chain and labor issues that have impacted restaurants and grocery stores throughout the pandemic are now plaguing school districts. Along with many other school districts, one of North Kansas City Schools’ major food distributors dropped us as a customer, unable to fill orders. Another provider exited the K-12 market due to the same supply shortages. We are currently relying on one larger distributor and several other small ones to bring in the massive quantity of food a district with more than 21,000 students requires. As they struggle to meet our needs, here is how this situation might impact you:

· Menu substitutions will be common based on availability of food.

· We may run out of a certain selection although the goal is for students at the end of our lunch periods to have the same options as the children who eat earlier in the day.

“We are doing everything in our power to improve current circumstances, even offering to transport the food from distributors ourselves. The problem was more complex than simply transportation, highlighting their limited supply and labor shortages as well. As we advocate for change, we simply ask for your patience and continued support. North Kansas City Schools will make every effort to serve delicious, healthy school meals that fuel our students’ success.”

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