E&I Members: How likely are you to recommend E&I Cooperative Services to a peer?
Nearly 30 million children participate in the National School Lunch Program (NSLP) each school year, and those are just those receiving free or reduced-cost lunches. While subsidies are available for some students, USDA data shows school meal programs remain one of the largest operational procurement categories for school districts, often accounting for nearly 30% of total spending, only behind labor costs.
For many K-12 districts, food service procurement has become far more complex than simply ordering cafeteria supplies or planning lunch menus. School nutrition departments must balance rising food costs, federal compliance requirements, staffing shortages, supply chain disruptions, and evolving student expectations while continuing to serve meals efficiently across multiple campuses.
As a result, many districts are turning to cooperative purchasing and strategically sourced contract catering companies for schools to simplify the procurement process and better control costs.
School nutrition and cafeteria operations involve far more operational oversight than in previous decades. Districts must manage:
Decisions aren’t as simple as they used to be, and tighter budgets are making it more difficult to provide nutritious, consistent meals every day.
Many school districts use cooperative contracts to simplify food service procurement, reduce the administrative burden of sourcing and compliance, and lower overall costs.
Because cooperative contracts are competitively solicited in alignment with 2 CFR Part 200, business and finance offices can reduce the time spent managing repetitive bid processes for commonly purchased cafeteria products and services. This allows K-12 school districts to purchase more efficiently while ensuring compliance, including those tied to federal meal funding programs.
Cooperative purchasing also provides flexibility during periods of market volatility. When food prices rise unexpectedly or there’s a disruption to the supply chain, districts with established cooperative supplier relationships may be better positioned to maintain continuity.
In many cases, districts also partner with contract catering companies for schools to support cafeteria operations, staffing, menu development, event catering, and large-scale meal preparation. These partnerships can help overcome labor shortages that plague many schools. In one study, 72% of school districts reported vacancies in their school meal programs.
E&I Cooperative Services has ready-to-use, competitively solicited cooperative agreements for food services and equipment suppliers, including Canteen, Chartwells, and Levy as part of the Compass Group, as well as:
Student expectations around school meals have changed, too. Districts are increasingly being asked to provide fresher ingredients, healthier menu options, allergen-conscious meal planning, and locally sourced products whenever possible. Many schools have entered farm-to-school programs to improve freshness and keep dollars flowing in the local economy.
E&I Cooperative Services offers a way to connect with local food for schools cooperative agreement programs. For example, America to Go catering management solutions connect to a broad network of pre-approved caterers using a cooperative agreement. Many partners allow for portions of contracts to be fulfilled through local suppliers, including many that can help you meet your diversity goals for certified MWBE (Minority and Women-owned Business Enterprise) businesses.
Cooperative contracts can also help districts navigate the Buy American provision and Geographic Preference requirements included in the NSLP.
As the only member-owned, nonprofit cooperative focused exclusively on education, E&I Cooperative Services helps school districts save time and money in their procurement process.
E&I offers more than 260 cooperative agreements across a broad range of goods and services to serve K-12 school districts, including food services and supplies. Leveraging the group purchasing power of more than 6,500 academic institutions, E&I Cooperative Services often achieves significant volume discounts that far exceed what school districts could negotiate on their own.
Because E&I works exclusively in the education sector, our procurement professionals have deep experience with your schedule and needs, including local food for schools’ cooperative agreement programs.
If you are not already a member, you can join thousands of other schools by joining E&I Cooperative Services. There is no cost for membership and no minimum purchasing obligation. Members get exclusive contracts with trusted suppliers, compliance-ready solutions, and significant cost savings.
Explore E&I’s cooperative contracts to simplify purchasing and save money with your food service sourcing and cafeteria equipment needs for your K-12 school district.