As more and more discussions stem about budget issues, Brownwood ISD is finding ways to cut costs while improving the student experience. One such implementation is the addition of a second walk-in freezer at the district office on Southside Drive.
Outside of what looks like a small warehouse, there are currently two rooms filled with pallets upon which are stacked boxes of applesauce, flour, rice, and other commodities to serve students in the six school cafeterias around Brownwood. Workers have upgraded and integrated a third adjoining room, previously used for other storage, adding insulation and new fans to double the available freezer area. Creating this space will cost around $10,000, and provide additional room for 800-900 cases of food commodities. BISD Maintenance staff has worked around the clock to make this room available as soon as possible, providing manpower without straining the food and nutrition budget.
The school district spends approximately $12,000 annually on a food storage warehouse in San Antonio. BISD School Nutrition Director Steven Locke said, “In our first year of having the extra freezer, we will have a total return on our investment, which is an unusual thing, but is great for us.” Locke explained the process of getting food from production to the students has been a three-step process, with companies like Tyson providing chicken ready to eat, which is shipped to the warehouse in San Antonio for storage, and then to Brownwood when needed. When the cafeterias order food they have to wait for the shipment to come in. This extra storage space cuts out the wait time, the “middle man, and the cost of shipping to get it here,” Locke said.
In addition to saving time and money, the freezer provides other benefits for the schools. There will be room to store more products; there can be additional flavors of products like applesauce on hand, giving the cafeterias a richer variety of products to serve. This enables individual cafeteria managers to better serve their students needs. “The additional types of inventory on hand help us make the students’ cafeteria experiences more enjoyable,” Locke said. Because of the financial savings and additional space, Locke said, “We will better serve the kids in the long run.”
Pictured above are workers constructing the new freezer. Pictured below are the current freezer full of items and the new freezer that is under construction.