On Thursday, Petersburg City Public Schools announced a new partnership with food service company Taher, Inc. Professional Food Service Management as part of their initiative to help improve local school nutrition programs.
“Petersburg City Public Schools is excited to partner with Taher, Inc. Professional Food Service Management to support and enhance our school nutrition program,” stated an announcement from the school system. “Taher chefs are engaging with our nutrition staff on training and support around food preparation and presentation.”
The efforts to improve school lunches began after a picture of a student’s lunch went viral in August, sparking social media criticism of the food offered at Petersburg’s public schools.
Superintendent Yolonda Brown, who had only recently been temporarily appointed to her position when the photos went viral, ordered a review of the division’s nutrition system in response to the backlash and promised improvements.
Thursday’s announcement, posted to Petersburg City Public Schools’ Facebook page, included three photos of recent school lunches at local schools that garnered immediate and widespread social media praise for appearing significantly more appealing than the school lunches that had first sparked a social media outcry in August.
What we know abut Taher
Founded in 1981, Taher is a family-owned and operated professional food service management company that primarily caters to schools, businesses, healthcare providers, assisted living facilities and similar institutions. The company is one of the largest food service management firms in the U.S., with a focus on delivering customized, quality meals and nutrition services to clients.
According to a statement on the company’s website, Taher’s meals are made from scratch with fresh, quality ingredients. To do so, Taher partners with local farmers and growers “who are committed to sustainable practices and humane standard,” according to the company.
Taher also partners with licensed dietitians who “stay current on advancements in nutritional knowledge,” according to the company’s website, and is working toward phasing out all trans fats from its menus and adding more whole grains.
In school settings, Taher often offers educational programs to students, including cooking and nutrition classes to promote healthy eating habits and spark curiosity in new foods and dishes from around the world.
More room for improvement
In addition to enhancing the quality of the food, the school system has committed to improving cafeteria infrastructure across Petersburg’s schools after an audit by the Virginia Department of Education in September revealed several critical areas for improvement in schools’ food service operations throughout the city.
Specifically, the audit found several deficiencies in the kitchens and cafeterias at Walnut Hill Elementary, Vernon Johns Middle School, Petersburg High School, and the Blandford 6th Grade Academy. These included deficiencies that require critical, immediate action such as broken or malfunctioning dishwashers, ovens, walk-in coolers/freezers, air conditioning systems and more.
“The audit identified several critical areas for improvement in our food service operations, and we are currently developing detailed plans to address these needs,” School Board chair Kenneth Pritchett wrote in a Sept. 18 letter to Mayor Sam Parham. “The School Division’s plan will focus on both short-term repairs and long-term enhancements to ensure that our cafeteria infrastructure remains reliable and capable of meeting the needs of our students and staff.”
The letter requested that $1.5 million in unspent city funds be set aside to meet these critical infrastructure needs.
“Several of our cafeterias require significant investments, both capital and operational, including the repair and replacement of outdated equipment and systems that are vital to daily food service operations,” it stated.
In addition to the $1.5 million requested by the School Board, the school division has pledged to contribute $2 million toward the division’s Food Service Fund to help complete these upgrades.
“The combined funding will enable us to address pressing capital needs, such as the replacement of large kitchen appliances and infrastructure upgrades, as well as support ongoing operational requirements, including equipment repairs and improvements to service efficiency,” Pritchett added in the letter.