Supply chain crisis leading to food, supply shortages in schools nationwide
Plates and serving trays are also in low inventory
Supply chain shortage strikes school cafeterias
U.S. school cafeterias see delays on everything from chicken to lunch trays as the supply chain shortage rages on. Ridley School District Director of Food Service Dimitra Barrios discusses how schools are managing the crisis.
The supply chain crisis affecting the U.S. economy has now hit school cafeterias and lunchrooms nationwide.
Many schools are struggling to feed students as delays and supply shortages still continue.
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Dimtra Barrios, the director of food service at the Ridley School District, said, "it’s a daily battle" for schools.
"We are hoping that deliveries arrive so that we don’t have to adjust our menu to ensure that our students receive meals," she told FOX Business' Jeff Flock.
Nutrition is a vital necessity for students of all ages. With a lack of food, students' learning and development could also suffer.
There's also a supply shortage as well. Plates and serving trays are also in low inventory, especially five-part compartment trays.
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Although these items seem simple, they are essential in lunchrooms, especially for young kids who need something easy to hold to prevent accidents and spills.
In addition to shortages, delays in deliveries also pose a problem for schools and directors.
If schools don’t receive their delivery on time, school officials have to come up with a quick solution.
Barrios says she goes to grocery stores and large warehouse suppliers to "get whatever we can get our hands on to make it happen for our students to receive meals."
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Like Barrios, many have had to find their own transportation to and from grocery stores and warehouses to make this happen, which also comes at a cost.
"We’re hoping that at some point we’re able to receive more reimbursements to subsidize that difference in the increase of goods right now," Barrios said.
"Hopefully we continue to receive deliveries, they come on a regular basis, and they have the items that we need," she concluded.
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If the crisis persists, students nationwide could struggle both educationally and developmentally.