Some members of the Waukegan Community Unit School District 60 Board of Education were displeased that a promise made two years ago by Sodexo — the company that provides breakfast and lunch to the district’s 14,000 students — was not kept for more than a year.
Sodexo promised to offer students and their families an electronic app to order meals in advance so they were ready when it came time for meals, there was more variety and less waste.
Now being tested in a pilot program with a limited number of students, the app is scheduled to become available to all students at the Washington and Brookside campuses of Waukegan High School on Dec. 1, and the middle schools early next year.
School board members want to make sure that when bids go out for a food service vendor next year — Sodexo will have the opportunity to apply — for the 2026-2027 school year, there will be assurances that all promises are kept.
“Once we’ve picked a contract vendor, will they assist us in making sure that the contract vendor is carrying out what they promised they will give, and the meals they will provide?” board member Rick Riddle said at a meeting of the board’s Operational Service Committee on Tuesday.
The District 60 Board of Education is scheduled to vote on a contract to hire Walker Quality Services to assist with the selection of a food vendor at 7 p.m. Tuesday at the Education Service Center in Waukegan with a goal of assuring contract compliance by the vendor.
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Board member Carolina Fabian said she has a number of concerns about the implementation of the app. She wants assurances that students and families will know how to use it, and the needs of students who may need a specific diet will be met.
“Are there priorities to students with food allergies or certain diets?” Fabian said. “Does the app let you check off a box for prioritization. That is one of the concerns. There are children with food allergies, and by the time it got to their lunch period, there’s no more of it.”
LeBaron Moten, the district’s deputy superintendent for operational supports and programs, said steps are being taken to make sure a student who ordered a specific item of food will have it during their assigned lunch. Some students are delayed because they travel between campuses.
“They will reserve the food until the end of the lunch period,” Moten said. “Sodexo will have it in a staging area in the school so the students can come pick it up. Running out should not be a concern, but that’s why we’re piloting it now.”
Also concerned about the communication of the plan, Fabian questioned the way students and families will learn about it. Moten said there will be signage throughout the schools. Some of it will be at the service lines, so the students see it when they are in line for their meal.
Moten said hiring Walker Quality Services will provide the necessary screening to best help the district make a choice of the vendor. Along with helping to develop the application process, Walker will help put district personnel in a position to evaluate the vendor.
“We want to have a set plan,” he said. “Even though we do annual renewals for our food service vendors, it’s going to be a multiyear process for us to establish what we’re going to want in the future. This will assist with training for contract management as it relates to making sure what is in the contract really happens.”
When the district took a look at Sodexo’s performance, Moten said Walker conducted the survey, so it is intimately familiar with what needs to be in a contract with a new vendor, whether it is Sodexo or someone else.
Both board members Christine Lensing and Anita Hanna wanted to know why the evaluation and training of a new vendor cannot be done by district staff. Moten said the additional help will make district staff more efficient over the span of the contract.
“We believe a certain level of support is needed to kickstart a new contract and the full contract implementation for our food service program,” Moten said. “There were things that were identified throughout the audit that were not as visible to a lot of individuals. We believe this extra expertise is necessary.”