MI School Cafeterias Now Affected by Our Supply Chain Problems

Our supply chain backlog that Biden said he corrected is now apparently affecting Michigan school cafeterias. As one food service director from Warren Consolidated Schools just north of Detroit stated last December she is having trouble finding the food needed to serve lunch at the schools she is in charge of. According to Chalkbeat, one conversation went like this:

I need deli turkey

The response from the Gordon Food Service sales representative was:

I do not have any sliced turkey

The food service director stated:

Unsliced that I can slice myself? Anything. I just need plain deli turkey

The response from the Gordon Food Service sales representative was:

I didn’t have any yesterday. I’ll have to look

The food service director asked:

Salami? Cheese sticks? Chicken drumsticks? Garlic bread seasoning?

I assume there are quite a few conversations around the state and country just like the above one.

The food service director at Grand Ledge last month was also dealing with serious supply chain problems. Darik news reported that the food service director stated:

Chicken, beef, even tortillas have been an issue…Most popular items that were usually always available with students are now limited.

Now the Lansing State Journal is reporting on the problems the Lansing School District is having with its foodservice supply chain. The general manager for district food service provider SodexoMagic, Jody Taratuta said finding cold meals is a bit easier but finding hot meals “can be a challenge”. She said, "Most of the popular items that students normally always had available are limited now”.

What I found interesting is the Lansing State Journal article stated that Ms. Golzynski said the following:

At Lansing School District, that means fewer lunch choices: four or five options at high schools rather than a dozen, and two choices at the elementary schools

Four of five options rather than a dozen?

Are there really that many options for High School students to choose from?

Are they speaking about 12 items over the entire week which averages out to about 2 a day?

I randomly choose a High School in the Kalamazoo/Portage area and found the following menu for this week at Portage and Kalamazoo Central High School:

When you have a dozen choices to choose from does that not take you out of the “cafeteria” space and into a full-blown restaurant?

I asked those of us older than thirty and none of us could remember there being anymore than 2 items on the menu. Those items were: