Rye Schools Switch Food Provider

Rye Schools are switching food service vendors from Chartwells to Aramark.

The reasons provided are fairly generic and cost was not discussed in the school communication sent to parents. It does say Aramark will provide additional food service staff resulting  in "improved customer service." The school announcement is below.

"After using Chartwells for two school years, the District has decided to switch food service vendors. Beginning in September, Aramark will be running the District’s 5 school cafeterias.

Aramark has been in the school food service business for over 60 years. They run the food service programs in Chappaqua and Mamaroneck where they have been well-received by students, faculty, and parents alike. They are known for their emphasis on nutritious, high-quality food and for responsiveness to diner feedback; Aramark has students taste-test all their recipes and surveys them regularly to find out what menu options they like best. To learn more about Aramark, please see the attached flyer.

What will this mean for parents/guardians and students?
We’re hopeful that the switch to Aramark will result in the high-quality, fresh, and delicious meals our students want and our parents expect. Aramark will increase the number of food service workers here in Rye resulting in improved customer service. Given that Aramark uses many of the same systems already in place, we hope the change will be relatively seamless.

Menus/app
Aramark also uses Nutrislice, the same interactive menu program/app currently in use by parents and students. We recommend that you refresh your browser, and delete and reinstall the Nutrislice app before the beginning of the school year to ensure you are receiving the most recent menu information. Visit the Food Service page on the District’s website to download the Nutrislice app or view menus.

Payments
There will be no change to MySchoolBucks, the electronic lunch account payment system used by the District. All prior year balances remain in the student accounts.

As always, cash is still accepted at the registers in our school cafeterias. Parents/guardians who wish to fund an account without payment fees can pay via check at the registers in our school cafeterias or in the Food Service office located at Rye High School.

Food allergens
Parents/guardians of students with food allergies who would like to learn more about Aramark’s ingredient management system should contact the Food Service Department at [email protected]. The new Food Service Director, Stacey Falcone, is happy to meet in person or to speak with parents/guardians over the phone. Ms. Falcone is a Certified, Licenced Dietician and Nutritionist with a B.A. in Nutrition and a Master’s in Health Science. She may be reached at 914-967-6100, ext. 2970, or via [email protected].

Elementary pizza days
There will be no change to the weekly Friday pizza days at the three elementary schools.

If you have any questions, please contact me at [email protected] or 914-967-6100, ext. 6273.

Thank you, and we look forward to a successful school year.

Sincerely,
Gabriella O’Connor
RCSD Assistant Superintendent for Business"

Read the Aramark flyer.