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Foodservice Flexibility

Foodservice Flexibility

With research finding that “school meals are essential to supporting the academic achievement and fundamental well-being of all pupils,” schools in California and across the country are challenged with providing adequate meals to aid youth to learn, grow, and achieve.

Do you know what institutions serve the most people per year?
When thinking of institutions that feed people daily, people may recall hospitals, correctional facilities, colleges and universities, and long-term care facilities. But what may not come to mind as quickly are K–12 schools, which served over 56 million people in 2018.

Challenges Foodservice Operators Face

As buildings age, demographics change, and new trends and regulations become standardized, foodservice operators are faced with a number of challenges. Schools across the nation are focused on providing healthy, quality options for students. States are focused on making sure that the underserved youth have access to free or reduced-price meals. As issues such as wellness, hunger, and obesity have become topics of concern, schools and foodservice professionals are challenged with responding adequately.
While many schools and foodservice operators are focused on the menu (variety, healthy, quality options), operations, and cost, these same operators are also concerned with adequate kitchen and dining space. As schools face the challenge of aging infrastructure, changing demographics, and more complex needs (e.g. dietary, on-the-go options), the kitchen and dining space and overall foodservice operations have become increasingly more essential to serve students well.
The dining space needs to also be adequate for enough seating, but focus is now placed on the environment and ensuring that the space is engaging and not too institutionalized. The dining experience is now, perhaps more than ever before, becoming an integral part of the student body’s learning environment. With access to breakfast and lunch, student learning and achievement is becoming tied to school meal programs that enrich students’ educational environment.
california's new bill
For example, California recently passed a bill (Assembly Bill No. 1871) that requires charter schools to provide needy pupils “one nutritionally adequate free or reduced-price meal during each schoolday.” The bill pointed out that California is home to more charter schools and charter school pupils in the country, but the charter schools were exempt from offering low-income pupils a daily, free or reduced-price, nutritious school meal. The research pointed out that more than 340,000 of the 630,000 charter school pupils are considered low income. Cited in the bill was that meals support health, growth, and learning.
In California, this new mandated legislature may require Charter Schools to implement a school meal program for the first time. Some schools may not have adequate kitchen facilities or a facility at all. In this case, schools may seek alternative resources to support a new or modified school meal program. One option is preparing meals at a school district’s central location and delivering the meals to each school. Another option might include contracting with a vendor to have meals prepared and delivered. Finally, another option that offers more control is to have a modular or containerized kitchen onsite at the school. Whether a temporary or permanent solution, Charter Schools are preparing to become operational quickly.
With research finding that “school meals are essential to supporting the academic achievement and fundamental well-being of all pupils,” schools in California and across the country are challenged with providing adequate meals to aid youth to learn, grow, and achieve. School districts are continually evaluating operations and seeking creative solutions to help support the students, operations, service, and quality.
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KTG can help.

Kitchens To Go has helped numerous K – 12 schools nationwide improve their kitchen and dining space through modular kitchen solutions. Often, when schools are faced with a renovation, Kitchens To Go provides temporary modular solutions that allow schools to continue serving students without interruption. Whether because of aging infrastructure, changes in population, or changing needs (e.g. dietary, on-the-go, gluten-free), Kitchens To Go has worked with schools and foodservice operators to find creative temporary and permanent solutions.

From renovations to expanded capacity, Kitchens To Go ensures business continuity so that foodservice operators can continue serving students without a lapse in service or quality. With questions about your school’s foodservice facility, contact Kitchens To Go today.

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Case Studies

KTG Helps Manhattan Teaching Hospital Reopen After Hurricane

KTG Helps Manhattan Teaching Hospital Reopen After Hurricane

“We designed the interior of this PAC kitchen to be flexible for the hospital, so that it would be able to both reheat prepared foods from a local supplier as well as produce fresh-prepared food, serving the hospital’s needs on a daily basis and ensuring that it was able to maintain the high standards that the hospital’s food and nutrition services team has established.”

Ralph Goldbeck | AIA & Kitchens To Go Partner
Kitchens To Go, a leading provider of mobile and modular kitchen solutions, recently installed two PAC (plug and cook) kitchens at a teaching hospital based in Manhattan, thereby helping the hospital to re-open in just two months after being forced to evacuate all patients following the devastating damage of Hurricane Sandy.

solutions for disaster recovery

The PAC kitchens will operate as the main kitchen for the hospital until renovations are completed on its ground-level kitchen that was destroyed during Hurricane Sandy, estimated in August 2013. The hospital endured an estimated $1 billion in damage, according to some reports, including extensive damage to its entire kitchen that was flooded by the Sandy storm surge. Kitchens To Go was hired in late November 2012, less than a month after the disaster, and quickly moved forward with plans to install a customized double PAC kitchen, made from 8’x40’ high cube shipping containers, on its roof.
Kitchens To Go’s PAC kitchen often presents the best option for any facility that needs to get a kitchen operating as quickly as possible, and the company’s PAC kitchens have become a go-to tool for disaster relief organizations over the past decade. Known for its durable, high-quality construction, the company has delivered these emergency kitchens to the American Red Cross and the Salvation Army following a variety of disasters, including Hurricane Katrina and Joplin, MO after the 2011 tornadoes.
In the wake of a natural disaster, commercial food service operations do not have the luxury of waiting the four-to eight-months time that is usually required to gain permit approvals, design and then build a new kitchen on site. Instead, many times the first responders are fighting a battle against the clock, needing to get much-needed nutrition to those trapped or stranded in the disaster area.
Kitchens To Go’s PAC kitchens are code-compliant and usually operable within days of being ordered. KTG has a long history of designing and building temporary and mobile kitchens, and the company’s Bolt-On Kitchen model, which is also a pre-constructed, code-compliant kitchen that may be affixed to an existing building on a permanent or lease-term basis, was recognized in 2012 with a Kitchen Innovation Award from the National Restaurant Association.
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Connect with us.

Kitchens To Go provides mobile, modular and containerized solutions for projects of any timeframe. Markets and conditions are changing constantly, however, so please connect with us to find out what options are currently available for your project’s need and timeline.

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Case Studies

“The Lot”—USC’S Mobile Kitchen Solution

“The Lot”—USC’S Mobile Kitchen Solution

To be able to feed such a large group of kids can be a real challenge. That is why USC decided to use a mobile kitchen that could bolt up to their existing infrastructure.

Challenges Foodservice Operators Face

At the University of Southern California, the students are able to enjoy a plethora of food from “the lot”. This is a place where a large food court is located on campus. To be able to feed such a large group of kids can be a real challenge. That is why USC decided to use a mobile kitchen that could bolt up to their existing infrastructure. This gave ease of installation on campus.

USC was able to pack a bunch of amenities into this 18682 SF Modular kitchen complex. USC was able to fit businesses like:

This extensive list is sure to keep students happy with a wide range of choices and cuisines. This is a central hub for students to meet and take a break during their busy schedule. This was originally created to house student’s food vendors while their Permanent commons area is being renovated. The project got its name “The Lot” from building on top of an older parking lot on campus.
california's new bill
For example, California recently passed a bill (Assembly Bill No. 1871) that requires charter schools to provide needy pupils “one nutritionally adequate free or reduced-price meal during each schoolday.” The bill pointed out that California is home to more charter schools and charter school pupils in the country, but the charter schools were exempt from offering low-income pupils a daily, free or reduced-price, nutritious school meal. The research pointed out that more than 340,000 of the 630,000 charter school pupils are considered low income. Cited in the bill was that meals support health, growth, and learning.
In California, this new mandated legislature may require Charter Schools to implement a school meal program for the first time. Some schools may not have adequate kitchen facilities or a facility at all. In this case, schools may seek alternative resources to support a new or modified school meal program. One option is preparing meals at a school district’s central location and delivering the meals to each school. Another option might include contracting with a vendor to have meals prepared and delivered. Finally, another option that offers more control is to have a modular or containerized kitchen onsite at the school. Whether a temporary or permanent solution, Charter Schools are preparing to become operational quickly.
With research finding that “school meals are essential to supporting the academic achievement and fundamental well-being of all pupils,” schools in California and across the country are challenged with providing adequate meals to aid youth to learn, grow, and achieve. School districts are continually evaluating operations and seeking creative solutions to help support the students, operations, service, and quality.
related blog posts