Victor schools to upgrade kitchen equipment through grant
VICTOR - Victor Central Schools received a grant which would offer the district a chance to upgrade much of its kitchen equipment, according to a recent announcement from a Virginia-based nonprofit.
According to the School Nutrition Association, Victor Central Schools will receive up to $20,000 in kitchen equipment from Hobart Food Equipment, a necessity according to district officials.
"Some of our equipment is inoperable due to safety issues. The condition of some of the equipment slows down production time in the kitchen," said Alexandra TePoel-DeWitt, director of Food Services for Victor Central School District and recipient of the grant.
According to TePoel-DeWitt, the grant came at a much-needed time, with budget setbacks due to the COVID-19 pandemic leading to a lack of funds needed to make the necessary equipment purchases.
"Once the pandemic hit, meal participation tanked," TePoel-DeWitt said, adding her department, which would receive reimbursement from the federal and state governments if there were children in school picking up the meals.
"We went from 2,500 meals a day to about 100 meals a day," TePoel-DeWitt said. As a consequence, TePoel-DeWitt had to dip into the department's Lunch Fund Account to cover operating costs. Funds designed to cover equipment repair and replacement costs instead went toward keeping things running, which led to TePoel-DeWitt choosing to apply for the grant to procure the much-needed equipment.
TePoel-DeWitt added that the new equipment will also help her staff work more safely and efficiently.
"When you have equipment running well for preparing foods, that always helps. It helps us adhere to menus, follow rules and regulations and stay aligned," she said.
According to the announcement, the Food Services department lost funding which would have gone toward replacing updated pieces of equipment, none of which has been replaced since 1998, when the district underwent a capital improvement project.
The new equipment, slated to be sent over to the district this summer according to officials, will help feed the student population and assist in handling more local ingredients from nearby farms, which often needs to be processed quickly.
"A lot of our students are related to or neighbors of our local farmers; students love that their food was grown by someone they know. This in itself would help us increase participation, show our support to our local community and help us to build successful relationships with farmers and students," TePoel-DeWitt said.
Victor Central Schools initially applied for the grant in the fall of 2021 and found out they received it in January 2022. The new equipment will be installed in Victor Senior High School, which functions as a large-scale kitchen for the district, according to TePoel-DeWitt.
This article originally appeared on MPNnow: Victor schools upgrades kitchen equipment through grant
