Why local catering might not work for school meals

Local catering services for school meals may seem like a great idea—students get fresh, locally sourced meals while supporting small businesses. However, in reality, local catering often comes with more challenges than schools anticipate.

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Below, we’ll outline key reasons why local catering might not work for school meal programs.

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1. Limited expertise in school nutrition

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Local caterers might be great at making delicious meals, but schools have specific nutritional requirements that first-time operators may not be familiar with. School meal programs follow strict guidelines to ensure meals are nutritious, balanced and meet students’ dietary needs. These requirements often include portion sizes, food groups, and essential nutrients.

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If local caterers lack knowledge of child nutrition, they won’t be able to create school-specific menus that support children’s health and development. Schools risk serving their students meals that don’t provide nutrients or meet their dietary needs.

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2. Inconsistent quality and menu variety

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When it comes to feeding a large number of students day in and day out, local caterers may struggle to keep meal quality and variety consistent. Many local caterers rely on seasonal, locally sourced ingredients, which can lead to repetitive or limited meal options, especially if they don’t have the infrastructure to offer a diverse menu.

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If local caterers can’t adjust to changing needs or provide enough variety, schools might be stuck with a service that doesn’t meet all their students’ needs.

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Limited menu options won’t be able to accommodate religious or cultural preferences, such as vegetarian meals, or medical dietary restrictions like allergen-free or gluten-free food. Additionally, students may become bored with the same meals over and over, leading to dissatisfaction and lower participation in the school meal program. This could result in wasted funds as students choose to eat elsewhere.

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3. Operational and logistical challenges

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Operating on a large scale is another potential challenge for many local catering businesses. While local caterers may have experience preparing meals for small events or restaurants periodically, they may not be used to feeding hundreds—or even thousands—of students daily.

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School meals need to be prepared and delivered on time, every day, with no room for errors. Unfortunately, local caterers may lack the infrastructure, staff, or resources to manage large orders consistently.

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If a caterer runs into a problem, such as staffing shortages, delivery delays, or equipment failures, the school bears the brunt. These challenges are beyond the school’s control, leaving administrators scrambling to feed students on time when caterers don’t deliver. This is a scenario many schools can’t afford, making it risky to rely on small operations. In these cases, local catering can become more of a liability than an asset.

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4. Lack of technology

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Local caterers may lack financial resources, access, or the know-how to implement new technologies. Technology could be as simple as having an app for placing orders to software that captures daily meal participation rates and production records for federal reimbursements. Schools shouldn’t have to deal with keeping track of spreadsheets with student orders every week or chasing parents for billing. This is especially important in today’s day and age, where simple innovations could make all the difference. Without the ability to tap into these advancements, students, parents, and schools could miss out on a lot of ways to make the school meal experience better.

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That’s why schools choose to work with Ordo

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Local caterers often fall short of meeting the needs of school meal programs due to the challenges we’ve discussed. So, for schools that want reliable, high-quality and scalable meal services, partnering with a specialized school meal provider like Ordo might be a better option.   We work with local chefs and kitchens, but what sets us apart is the added layer of operational efficiency, technology, and standardization we bring that makes the experience better and more reliable.

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Ordo has become the fastest-growing school food program in America, providing fresh meals made from scratch every day in our kitchens in more than 15 states. Our chefs focus on cooking homestyle food that’s both nutritious and what students love.

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Students and parents can place their orders through their ordering app and choose from seasonal menus with 4 to 6 different options daily like Tex Mex Crunch Salad with Creamy Lime Dressing or Chicken Bacon Wrap with Pretzels, Carrots & Ranch. Our online platform automates compliance paperwork for reimbursable meals, tracks important metrics like daily participation rate, and handles all payment and order processing.

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Ordo offers both vended meal service where we deliver the food every day and onsite food service management with our chefs preparing food on campus. We have served all types of schools, from preschools and daycare centers to private and public schools.‍

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If you’re interested in providing fresh, healthy food for your school, you can reach out to the school partnerships team here.