Gasconade County R-2 Board of Education on Feb. 17 visited about replacing Nutritional Director Lori Angell, following her retirement. Superintendent Dr. Jeri Kay Hardy said under new nutritional leadership, the recommended rates would increase to the state requirements.

“Not just charge, but the charge at the full rate where we were before, yeah,” Board President Glenn Ely said. “Well, there’s a national rate. They want us to be minimally the national rate, yes.”

The national lunch rate is $4.01 now, while the reimbursable rate for free lunch is $4.60 and reduced is $4.20, Hardy said.

“Then we’ll reimburse 44 cents on full pay. But then, if you’re looking at breakfast, the national reimbursement rate is $2.46, for free lunch, $2.16 for reduced and then 40 cents for full pay meals.”

Hardy said at the AASA conference that there were multiple booths set up, and the food is good, but also they won’t start out with what they serve there.

“They’ll work up to that,” she said. “They’ll train your people. This one is catered specifically to our district, and there are some others. I think they want to see where we’re at with that.”

Hardy added that the food service providers she has visited with are concerned about the district providing free breakfast and lunch to all students district-wide.

“So we have met with a couple of food service companies,” Hardy said. “One thing that we have learned through food service providers is they want to make money for them, and they want to make money for us. With us not not charging students, then they think we’re too big of a risk, because if administration were to change, or board members were to change, and you look at how much money we’re spending this year.

The district spent roughly $502,000 in the 2024-25 school year on providing breakfast and lunch to all students in the district.

“Our numbers are up, so it’s probably gonna be a little bit more than that this year, because we have served over 1,500 more meals this year than we served last year,” she said. “

Several students have DoorDash brought in or Domino’s delivered, even though they can eat free, Hardy acknowledged. The food service providers are concerned.

“They’re really leery of contracting with us because we don’t charge students, and so that’s something that you all need to be aware of,” Hardy said. “Also, because the guidelines for a food service director in the state of Missouri have changed since we hired our current food service director. Before we had the current food service director, the standards were they had worked in the food service industry.”

In 2015, the standards changed. As the district has 2,499 students or less enrolled in the district, the food service director is held to the minimum education standards. Current standards require a bachelor’s degree or equivalent of educational experience with an academic major in specific areas or a degree in any academic major, and a state-recognized certification for school nutritional directors. Or an associate’s degree or equivalent education experience with an academic major in specific areas, which could be food service, business, health, nutrition, dietetics, and at least one year of relevant experience in school nutrition programs.

“So that is the minimum requirement, but you have to have had the experience in school nutrition programs,” Hardy said. “So we’re not getting a lot of applicants that meet these qualifications. So we are reaching out to DESE just to make sure that there’s not something that they haven’t put on here, but that’s the requirements right now. And so that’s kind of where we are with food services.”

Hardy said they are struggling to find someone to even meet the qualifications of a high school diploma with at least three years in a school nutrition program.

“We are going to reach out, because I don’t think we’re the only school that can be having this problem,” Hardy said. “ Try to find someone who would meet some of these qualifications.”

Board Member Debbie Landolt followed up.

“Do you have some of the information from the food service companies that you did talk to that you can just send us?” Landolt asked.

Hardy provided the board with a booklet from the food service program she met with.

Referencing the cost and options available, Hardy closed out the discussion with, “That’s what it could look like if we charge.”