VINTON — The Vinton-Shellsburg School Board of Directors approved a one-year extension the Chartwells food service contract amid concerns raised by food service staff at the June 16 regular meeting.

Chartwells, a food service provider that serves over 4800 schools, was first contracted by the school district for the 2025-26 school year. Superintendent Kyle Koeppen updated the board with a summary of responses to the first year of working with Chartwells by Vinton-Shellsburg District Food Service Director Karen Ackman.

Koeppen reported that Ackman reported strengths in the past year regarding availability of daily entrée options and several improvements in software and resources that the larger company can provide.

Ackman also detailed key challenges encountered during the past school year, including increased food waste, food quality concerns, and reduced salad bar and menu options.

Animesh Goswami, Chartwells Area Director, and Jessica Inglett, Director of Dining Services for Chartwells K12, were on hand to respond.

Goswami noted that meals produced per labor hour increased from about 7.5 to around 11.2 between August 2025 to May 2026, meal options had increased from 1 to 3-4 options, and that all school buildings participated in food service surveys, and only the Middle School did not report positive changes.

The Middle School reported instances of running out of some food choices, expressed disappointment with repetitive menus, and some instances of grilled food that was cold.

Goswami and Inglett reported that staff has in some cases been resistant to utilizing the new software system that Chartwells has in place, while Tilford Food Service Lead Laurie Werning said staff had not been provided with sufficient training.

Both sides agreed that the first year had experienced growing pains. “I think one of the biggest challenges [this year] is that we are operating with two sets of rules,” Goswami said. “That’s a hard situation for anybody to be in. We need to figure out how to make it a more cohesive playing field, so everybody has the same expectations, the same guidelines.”

Board member Jennifer Birker concluded the lengthy discussion with results of her personal tour of each of the four school buildings to observe the food service and serving process, speaking with staff and students. She reiterated that staff were concerned about communication and accountability between themselves and Chartwells

“But I do think we need to commit to a more effective path to go forward,” Birker said. “Changing companies now would be a disruption. It would be my recommendation to continue the partnership with Chartwells.”

The board unanimously approved the motion to continue, and the board also committed to touching base more often throughout the year with the food service operations.

In other business, The Vinton-Shellsburg Fine Arts Century Club donated $15,000 to the school district to support upgrades to the high school auditorium, and conducted routine business regarding insurance for the upcoming school year and an update on the Middle School library project.