CKC's 'commodities first' menus save schools money

The USDA gives schools a gift every year in the form of commodity foods, officially known as USDA Foods. They provide nutritious foods to federal child nutrition programs while supporting American agriculture production. Using your commodities' entitlements to the fullest extent is just one of the ways CKC Good Food ensures the integrity of your school's food service budget.

CKC's executive chef creates our school lunch menus with a "commodities first" mindset. Starting with available USDA Foods, as well as fresh fruits and vegetables offered through the Department of Defense, she masterfully develops flavorful recipes that students will love. USDA offers more than 75 dry, canned, and frozen USDA Foods such as meat, cheese, produce, flour and pasta. Using commodities first, CKC is able to reduce our schools' overall food costs.

CKC's extensive experience with both the procurement of and reimbursement for commodities is a great benefit to our schools. We work with you to make sure your entire entitlement is spent and used each year and we track deliveries, release claims and report any discrepancies to the Minnesota Department of Education.  At the end of the school year, we credit your school for the value of all commodities received. We promise complete transparency in the costs associated with commodity foods and will return 100% of commodities reimbursements back to your school. We have paid back over $2 million for commodities to our schools in the past several years.

When your school receives your commodities survey from the USDA this spring, contact General Manager Laurie Yohn, SNS to complete it on your behalf, according to the ingredients needed for your school's menus.

If you're not a CKC client, ask your vended meal provider or food service management company how it uses commodities and how much the company paid back to its clients in commodities in recent years. We'd love for your to taste the CKC difference. You can schedule a taste test and submit your RFP for a food service bid by clicking on the respective icons below.