MCPS Awards Foodservice Contract to Dunkin’
Starting in January, MCPS runs on Dunkin’.
The Montgomery County Public Schools’ Division of Procurement has announced the awarding of a sole-source contract to Dunkin' Donuts LLC for food service in the system’s 210 schools. Dunkin’ takes over cafeterias in January.
“Our partnership with Dunkin’ extends into the curriculum and community from K through twelve, ensures equal access across socio-economic boundaries, and guarantees no child will leave school hungry,” said MCPS provost Carol Yager.
Dunkin’ health and wellness corporate partners helped create a contract proposal addressing nearly every objection raised by MCPS board members, according to Yager.
A key concern was equal access to a more expensive school menu. Thanks to a $35 million-dollar grant from Danish pharmaceutical company Novo Nordisk A/S and the Ozempic Foundation, students receiving Title I meal subsidies will be served the same Dunkin menu as other students.
“For families suffering food insecurity, the grant means two out of three meals a day are covered, five days a week,” said chief procurement officer Jon Minnoch Jr.
MCPS concerns about nutrition and caloric intake were put to rest by a $59 million-dollar health and wellness education grant from Eli Lilly's Humalog Fund. "It is important to learn from an early age that when your body can't handle the sugar intake, there are consequences and resources to counter them," said Humalog Fund executive director Frederick G. Banting III.
“Dunkin’ breakfast will energize learning in whole new ways,” provost Yager told The Montgonion.
While administrators applaud the Dunkin’ initiative, some parents are not happy. “We eat Dunkin on weekend mornings. What am I supposed to do now? Make f'n waffles?” wrote Nicole Levin, a mom from Clarksburg, on her PTA Facebook page.
The elementary school menu’s Glazed Jelly Stick has 540 calories, 30g fat, 15g saturated fat, 66g carbohydrates, 4g protein, 37g sugars, and 430mg sodium. Middle and high school students enjoying Dunkin's sausage, egg, and cheese croissant sandwiches consume 720 calories, 52g fat, 20g saturated fat, 42g carbohydrates, 21g protein, and 1,120mg sodium.
“The days of tasteless school meals, excessive food waste, and students too hungry to learn are over,” said Yager.
