When Funding Is Unpredictable, Here’s Where to Invest Now
Let’s be real: funding uncertainty isn’t going away anytime soon. So if you’ve got dollars to spend now, the smartest move is to invest in things that will keep paying off long after budgets tighten. In school foodservice, that means people, systems, and experiences, not just products.
Here’s where to focus in 2026.
1. Invest in Your People (Always a Power Move)
If there’s one investment that never goes out of style, it’s your staff. When funding gets tight, a capable, confident workforce becomes your biggest advantage.
Ongoing communication and management training for district and school-based leaders should be table stakes. But if extra funds are available now, this is the moment to level up culinary and technology skills. The future of school foodservice is more complex, more tech-driven, and more focused on fresh, high-quality food. Your team needs to be ready for this evolution.
Training should align with your program’s long-term goals and innovation strategy. With increased emphasis on fresh and frozen fruits and vegetables, whole grains, and lean or alternative proteins, staff will need stronger culinary skills and the right equipment to match.
Serving fresh produce every day sounds great, but it requires real prep capacity. That means produce processed on-site, stored properly, and served beyond the weekend. If your kitchens don’t have large institutional food processors, now is the time to invest in both the equipment and the training to use it well.
2. Perpetual Inventory: Less Guessing, More Control
Every successful business knows exactly what’s in inventory and how it connects to demand. School foodservice should be no different.
Technology now makes it possible to track inventory daily and connect it directly to food costs. Just like POS systems improved accuracy at the register, inventory systems tied to production records can unlock serious savings by flagging waste early.
When ordering, production, and sales data work together, you can spot over-ordering, over-portioning, and leftovers before they become expensive habits. Food is your program’s currency and accountability matters at every level, from directors to school-based managers.
While most programs still rely on monthly inventory, the strongest systems link POS data to daily food usage through production records. This allows programs to:
Monitor meals served and cost per meal (breakfast, lunch, supper, snacks, and à la carte — separately, not lumped together)
Track food usage daily
Catch discrepancies quickly and fix issues before they grow
Yes, perpetual inventory requires consistent daily documentation, but it actually saves time. Daily checks beat month-end fire drills, and supervisors can address problems in real time instead of after the damage is done.
Pair this with “just-in-time” ordering to keep inventory lean, rotated, and easier to manage. Bonus points for menu planning with versatile ingredients that can be used multiple ways — simpler menus, lower costs, less waste.
3. Customer Engagement: Design for Students, Not Just Service
Participation drives revenue, and participation depends on the customer experience.
Student habits and school culture heavily influence meal participation, especially in high schools. The biggest ROI lives in lunch and supper programs, particularly when students are encouraged (or required) to gather in common spaces during meal periods.
Here’s the data-backed truth: upgrading cafeteria seating and atmosphere can boost participation by 15–20%.
Teenagers want to belong. They want to feel “cool.” Cafeterias that feel outdated or transactional don’t compete with off-campus options or skipping meals altogether. The most successful cafeteria makeovers turn lunchrooms into student-union-style spaces — inviting, flexible, and social.
Think less “standing in line” and more “place to hang out.” High-top tables, booths, round tables, soft seating, and collaborative zones all shift the experience from eating as a task to eating as a social break. With thoughtful space planning, seating capacity can even increase.
Many high schools already use cafeterias for classes during the day. Curved booths, movable seating, and high-top stations with integrated tech support collaboration in both learning and dining. It’s multi-use design that actually works.
4. Don’t Sleep on Supper Programs
Supper programs are the sleeper hit of the future.
Reimbursement rates match lunch, but food and labor costs are often lower, especially when menus lean into “snack-style” offerings. Plus, high schools already have students on campus after school for sports, tutoring, clubs, and rehearsals. Hungry students + convenience = opportunity.
Success starts with collaboration. Engage administrators, coaches, and teachers to identify where students gather and when food access makes the biggest impact. Start small, focus on high-interest areas, and let word of mouth do the rest.
Mobility matters here. Investing in equipment like rolling coolers, golf carts, and breakfast-style carts allows meals to go to students instead of waiting for students to come to the cafeteria. These tools increase participation and improve accountability for meals served.
Building relationships with educators who understand students’ nutritional needs creates strong allies and helps ensure students are fueled, focused, and ready to learn.
Bottom Line
When funding is unpredictable, smart investments aren’t about reacting, they’re about preparing. Invest in your people. Invest in systems that give you clarity. Invest in spaces that students actually want to be in.
Those choices don’t just help you survive tight budgets, they set your program up to thrive.
ABOUT THE AUTHOR
Lora spent nearly 20 years as the Senior Director for the Orange County Public Schools (OCPS) Food and Nutrition Program in Orlando, Florida. During her tenure, she tripled the meals served to one million every five days. During the pandemic, OCPS served 46 million meals, an increase of 28% from the 2019 school year.
Lora's extensive accomplishments at OCPS inform her current work with ProTeam where she is passionate about helping to empower nutrition professionals to improve access to school meals.