When Waukegan Community Unit School District 60 signed a contract two years ago with Sodexo, a food service company, to provide breakfast and lunch to the district’s 14,000 students, promises were made.
An app for easy ordering was part of the package. Lebaron Moten, the district’s deputy superintendent for operational supports and programs, said the app will be available this fall — two years late. No specific reason for the delay was given.
Christine Lensing, a member of the District 60 Board of Education, said hot breakfasts with eggs and potatoes, among other items, were promised. Alicia Williams, the district’s coordinator of child nutrition and transportation, said breakfast bars, cereal and milk are the main menu items.
“A breakfast bar and a Lucky Charms cereal or a cinnamon toast cereal does not register as a healthy, nutritional breakfast to me,” Lensing said.
The District 60 Board of Education reached a consensus to seek bids for a food service vendor for the 2026-2027 school year during its meeting on Tuesday at the Education Service Center in Waukegan seeking a new provider, or a different deal from Sodexo.
After the district decided to commission an independent study for a standards review of the food program — which provides free breakfasts and lunches to all students to assure it complies with state requirements — Moten said there was a long list of needs, both short- and long-term.
While the middle schools, as well as the Washington and Brookside campuses of Waukegan High School have kitchens, none of the 15 elementary schools have a place to prepare food. Food is delivered ready to eat where there is no kitchen. Student feedback on food choices has not been good, district officials said.
More Top Picks Best Mattresses For Couples With Different Preferences
“We do have nutrition compliance, but the menu variety is something we have heard concerns about. We’ve talked about variety and being culturally responsive,” Moten said. “Student dissatisfaction was consistent from school to school,” he added, referring to survey results.
Along with menu issues, Moten said there are both long-term and short-term kitchen infrastructure needs. Work will start immediately on contract compliance with Sodexo with an itemized action plan. A capital improvement program will take longer.
“This is specifically focused on the elementary schools, AOEC and Robbie Lightfoot,” Moten said. “They do not have full kitchens, like the middle and high schools. We need a short- and long-term capital improvement plan if we want to provide different options at our elementary level.”
With Sodexo’s contract expiring on June 30, Moten said along with working quickly with Sodexo to remedy the contract deficiencies, he is recommending the district seek bids for a food service vendor for the next school year. Requests for proposals would go out in January.
Superintendent Theresa Plascencia suggested an earlier date so there will be no issues putting a contract in place before June 30. Sodexo will have the opportunity to submit a bid along with other candidates. Unlike other bids, more than price is involved.
“Price is only part of the process,” Moten said. “It’s variety, quality of offerings. We want to make sure we’re following up on these items in real time now. We can bid a contract not based solely on … low price, but based on performance options and offerings.”
“My question is always going to be, ‘What else can you do for us?’” Lensing added.
Another concern is the amount of food wasted. Board member Carolina Fabian said the ordering app should help with the need for discarded meals. She also wants to make sure the food is packaged in a way it is easy for the children to open.
“They will know how much to prepare so they won’t be overpreparing,” Fabian said regarding the app. “Packaging is important. You have 20 minutes, and you have to train these kids how to open it and eat it in 20 minutes.”
Since approving bids for a food vendor was not on the agenda for a vote, board President Michael Rodriguez asked for a consensus from his colleagues to give the administration a green light to make the necessary preparations.
“I see a lot of heads going up and down,” he said looking at Plascencia.