VWCS food services dept. serves many meals

SCOTT TRUXELL/independent editor

When school is in session, the food services department at Van Wert City Schools is a busy one. Just how busy? How about more than 250,000 meals served during a typical school year.

At Wednesday night’s school board meeting, Food Services Director John Marquez said during the 2024-2025 school year, 187,423 lunches were served across the district’s four schools, along with 69,232 breakfasts.

“These numbers reflect strong participation and highlights how essential our program is to families across the district,” Marquez said.

He added the average breaks down to about 1,400 meals per school day and he said the largest share of meals was served at the elementary school. Nearly 99,000 free lunches were served districtwide along with nearly 20,000 reduced price lunches. Free breakfasts made up the majority of that program.

Marquez also praised his entire staff and explained the strict federal nutritional guidelines that must be followed when planning and serving school lunches to students.

“Our work is far more than food,” he said. “Proper nutrition supports academic performance, attendance, emotional well being and overall health. For many families, school provides a reliable source of nutritious food and we take that responsibility seriously.”

“School meals can be the most nutritious lunch a lot of students receive during the day,” he continued. “We don’t know their home life, we don’t know what they go home to or what they come from but while they’re here they’re going to receive a nutritious lunch from us that meets all federal requirements that are handed down.”

Marquez also said the district’s policy is every child receives a meal regardless of their account balance or ability to pay.

“No child goes hungry,” he stated. “If a student has no money on their account, they’re still fed, they’re never singled out, they’re never denied a meal. This commitment is central to our values even though it can create financial challenges. The state and federal regulations say we an offer an alternative meal to students who don’t have the money on their account but we do not do that. It’s our choice here at the school that every student receives the same meal – we don’t want to single them out.”

Board Vice-President Julie Burenga asked about last year’s shortfall due to non-payment, to which Marquez said it total approximately $1,800. He also said the Van Wert Moose Lodge previously stepped in to cover all negative lunch balances. He also said some staff members donate once a month or annually to help offset negative balances.

The cafeteria operation is a 100 percent self-funded and non-profit enterprise through federal and state reimbursements, meal sales and à la cart purchases. It operates independently from the school district’s general fund.