FARMINGTON – At the RSU 9 Board of Directors meeting on Tuesday night, Chef Andy Hutchins spoke regarding Provision Two of the USDA, which supplies students with free meals during the school day.
For four years, all breakfast and lunch for RSU 9 students will be paid for by the state under Provision Two. The program ensures that the USDA and the state reimburse the school for every meal served, and it helps to alleviate administrative burdens on the district.
Free and reduced-price meal applications are being collected by the school during year one, and this eliminates the requirement for the school to collect meal benefit applications from families for the following three years.
“The good thing for us is that we are being paid for every single meal that we serve,” Hutchins said. “In years past, we have had to try and chase down debt that had been accumulated over time from families.”
All debt that was owed previously by families has been paid off, allowing the school to put more focus on serving meals. Not a single school in the district was below the number of meals they have served in previous years, and they are setting records in every school.
With concern regarding rising food costs, Director Alexander Creznick asked Hutchins if food costs were becoming an issue. Hutchins stated that he has been able to get most of the food that they would like, but there have been some situations where they have had to make substitutions and menu adjustments due to the increase in food costs.
“I’ve been doing this for over thirty years now and I have never seen a case of romaine lettuce cost $126,” Hutchins said. “On the high end, it used to cost around $40 to $50.”
Superintendent Christian Elkington declared the votes for Mt. Blue Middle School Career
and Technical Education Expansion. In total, there were 7,804 votes in the affirmative and 884 in the negative.
The expansion is in partnership with the Bjorn Foundation, who will be providing a $2.5 million donation to cover the cost of construction. The proposed expansion will include a 5,000 square foot learning space at the middle school, including three large learning spaces for hands-on learning, and a shared classroom for group instruction.
Some of the potential programs the CTE Expansion will offer include Architecture, Construction, and Manufacturing, Medical and Public Safety, Audio and Visual Technology and Communication, and Hospitality and Tourism.
“This donation comes at an ideal time as feedback from our Strategic Planning shows a strong need to increase offerings to students that focus on real-life skills, workforce readiness, and hands-on learning,” the written proposal states.
