K-12 Is Complicated. We Can Help.

Stephanie Tragesser, Regional Account Manager – Zink Foodservice

Over the past two years I have worked with Zink Foodservice as a regional account manager, advising non-commercial food service operations on front and back of house acquisitions. In that time, I have partnered with Palmer Hamilton on several accounts as a trusted vendor that my K-12 clients can rely on for elevated spaces and high-quality furniture.

 

Before I moved into my current position, I was a K-12 food service director for many years. This role allowed me to gain a unique understanding of the people I no

w call clients. I know what they value in a business partner, and I can identify and appreciate vendors like Palmer Hamilton that make the extra effort to meet these unique needs in the K-12 market:

Food Service Directors Have a Lot on Their Plate

When I worked in a school district, I had 20 buildings to manage and oversaw a total of eight remodels. The day-to-day operations of managing staff, planning menus, working out budgets and other tasks combined with these larger projects to improve my spaces was a lot to handle.

 

My experience is not unique, and there are countless food service directors in K-12 who are currently managing a similar workload. They don’t have much room left in their schedule for anything else. With the high demands of the role in mind, the best approach to sales in K-12 is more of a partnership than a pitch. Directors should be able to find relief in handing over part of their long list of responsibilities to a trusted advisor, knowing they will receive insightful, application-specific recommendations without any agenda outside of providing what’s best for the school.

Funding Is a Tough Nut to Crack

Another time-consuming aspect of the food service director’s job is the lengthy approval process required for any larger acquisitions. Purchases over a certain dollar amount are required by the United States Department of Agriculture (USDA) to follow various rules and go through several steps before they can come to fruition.

Understandably, this red tape can discourage food service directors from pursuing bigger projects, even if they want to take them on. Any advisor who works with schools on these larger scale endeavors needs to know how to navigate and assist in the complexities of funding and be able to further lessen the burden on the director.

There Are Many Mouths to Feed

Food service directors are constantly working to please several different bosses. There are the district administration and regulation from the USDA, but many other parties also have a lot of influence on school nutrition.

Unlike other departments within a school, food service’s budget comes directly from its income. In other words, the more kids who are eating meals at school, the higher the budget. This makes convincing students to eat the food provided by the school critical to maintaining and growing the program. Appealing to students requires a multi-faceted approach, with many schools updating the menus to include more “build-it-yourself” options and culinary diversity, as well as working to make the physical space more modern and inviting.

Staff working under a director also have a lot of influence, especially in today’s market. Keeping cafeteria workers happy in their roles has always been a priority for food service directors. However, this has become even more important as finding and retaining cafeteria workers has been a challenge since the beginning of the pandemic.

With all these stakeholders who need to be catered to in different ways, working with a company that understands each group is critical.

The Secret Ingredient

School food service directors care a lot about their programs and their communities, and they want to work with people who feel the same way. Understanding this truth has led Zink to hire employees and choose vendors, like Palmer Hamilton, that reflect that mentality by putting the needs of the school first.

Palmer Hamilton has proven time and time again to understand the industry and regulations, lessen the burden with a full-service business model and cohesively incorporate all stakeholder opinions into each design. We are proud to work with the Palmer Hamilton team and will continue to recommend them, confident that they will help schools elevate their food service spaces and programs.