We’re Here to Help!
One of the biggest challenges currently facing the food service industry is a labor shortage. This shortage is a major problem for local school districts and their school menu planning. Local school districts rely on food distribution companies to supply and deliver products necessary for school lunches, snacks, and more. During this labor shortage, many food distributors lack the resources needed to fulfill orders and deliveries for schools, resulting in canceled food deliveries and dropped contracts with local school districts.
A recent Missouri Independent article highlighted the challenges one Eldon school district faces. The school district’s food supplier canceled their order and delivery of food needed to prepare the 3,000 meals served each day in the district’s schools. With only a 12- hour notice, Shawdra Taylor, the district’s food services director, had to quickly come up with a new plan. After exhausting a few options, Taylor found Graves Foods and reached out for assistance in getting the resources she desperately needed.
Soon after being contacted, a Graves salesman jumped in his car and drove items down to Eldon that same day. A truck with more supplies arrived the following day. “It was a lifesaver,” Taylor said.
“We’ve been fortunate and blessed enough that we’ve been able to take on their needs without much issue,” said Forrest Graves, our Vice President of Operations. Forrest credited our company mantra of slow and steady growth and reliance on our own fleet of trucks and long-term employees with enabling Graves to reliably fulfill the needs of our current and new customers, including school districts.
Graves is so proud and grateful to our dedicated employees to be a source of help and a solution for school districts and other local businesses facing the current food and labor shortages and a tumultuous food service industry.
If your business or a business you know of is facing similar problems as the Eldon school district and so many others, please reach out to us at schools@gravesfoods.com and we will do our best to get you the products you need when you need them.
Graves is always here for you. Delivering groceries and supplying solutions.