Bloomfield and East Granby Public Schools have launched a new partnership to provide expanded food service operations to East Granby students, creating new opportunities for collaboration and growth in both communities.
Through an interschool agreement, Bloomfield is providing food service operations for students at Seymour Elementary, Allgrove, East Granby Middle School, and East Granby High School. East Granby was historically a “brown bag” district without a traditional school meal program. This partnership provides students with access to full-service, on-site meal options while allowing the two districts to share expertise, resources, and ideas.
Teams from both districts worked together on program design, menus, staffing, logistics, equipment, and implementation. East Granby also completed kitchen renovations and upgrades to support the new program and establish the infrastructure needed for sustainable food service.
The response from East Granby students and families during the first weeks of the school year has been encouraging. The partnership also creates opportunities to increase participation in Bloomfield’s food service program, expand partnerships with local farms and businesses, and create additional staffing opportunities.
Suzanne Palmieri, East Granby Superintendent, believes the partnership demonstrates the potential of regional collaboration in public education. “Small districts don’t have to solve every challenge alone. This partnership shows what can happen when two school systems bring their strengths to the table, think creatively, and focus on what is best for students. Bloomfield didn’t simply provide East Granby with a service; our teams built something together. I think this kind of thoughtful regional collaboration is an important model for the future of public education in Connecticut.”
This partnership not only helps to offer East Granby students healthy school lunch options, it also benefits Bloomfield students. The increased daily participation rate that comes from adding in East Granby students will provide Bloomfield cost savings on high quality ingredients used in their kitchens. Increased participation in the school lunch program also improves their ability to qualify for state and federal grants that can be used to purchase new food service equipment. Any excess funds Bloomfield receives from the East Granby lunch service will be reinvested into the Bloomfield program, with goals of increasing the purchases they make from Bloomfield based businesses and farms.
Bloomfield Superintendent, Dr. Tracy Youngberg, states, “Understanding just how this unique partnership is beneficial to both districts makes it clear that this is a student-centered, win-win arrangement. I am proud of the work our Food Service Director, Nick Carambelas, has done to make this partnership a reality.”
The partnership is designed as a long-term collaboration and demonstrates how neighboring school districts can work together to develop creative, sustainable solutions that put students first. Both districts are committed to a continuous improvement cycle.
We extend our sincere thanks to Principal Bob McGrath and the entire Allgrove staff for graciously agreeing to have Allgrove serve as a satellite school and for their support and partnership.
From left to right: July Velazquez, Rachelle Wells, Dr. Tracy Youngberg, Nicholas Carambelas, Suzanne Palmieri, Mary Hiney, Scott Samuelson and Richard Parks
