Food Service Update

Posted on 06/18/2024

Sturgis families, we are excited to announce that we have selected Taher to provide school meals throughout Sturgis Public Schools starting in August 2024. Taher is a family owned business that focuses on cooking from scratch with fresh, quality ingredients. We plan on having a community feast prior to the start of the school year, so that you can taste what we have in store for our students. All current food service staff members will have the option to continue working for Sturgis Public Schools under the leadership of Taher or working directly for Taher. New staff will be hired directly by Taher. If you are interested in joining the Taher team, stay tuned, more information will be made available in the near future.

Here are some videos intended to provide you with a glimpse into what Taher will bring to Sturgis.
*Pawhuska SD Fox 23 News
*Rockford HS DeRusha Eats
*Muskego HS TMJ4 News

Previous Update on May 28, 2024

Sturgis families, we are in the final stages of securing a food service partner for the 2024-2025 school year. Our goals are to (1) serve delicious school meals, (2) ensure that at least 75% of our school meal options are made from scratch, and (3) take care of our food service staff with outstanding culinary training, best practices, and a supportive work environment.

We anticipate receiving bids from six potential food service partners. In addition to receiving bids, we are visiting one middle school and one high school served by each potential partner. These visits have taken us to Caledonia Community Schools in Caledonia, MI for a visit with Aramark, Constantine Public Schools in Constantine, MI for a visit with Chartwells; Elmwood Park School District in Elmwood Park, IL for a visit with Quest Food Service Management Services; Jackson Public Schools in Jackson, MI for a site visit with Taher; Liberty-Benton Local Schools in Findlay, OH for a visit with the Nutrition Group; and Reeths-Puffer Schools in Muskegon, MI for a visit with SFE.

The purpose of these visits is to look at what they stock their fridges and freezers with, talk with food service staff members, observe their culinary practices, eat food from the lunch line alongside students, and talk with students in the cafeterias that they serve. We feel that this approach will give us a very accurate picture of their day-to-day culinary and employment practices.

All bids from the six potential food service partners are due on June 7th, and our hope is to have our final selection secured by the end of June. We then plan on working with our partner to schedule a community feast in August, so that the full community can come out and taste the change prior to the start of the 2024-2025 school year.