COPPERAS COVE, TX (November 22, 2021)—Shortages in the supply chain affects not only businesses but school districts as well. Despite ordering turkeys in December 2020 from both the USDA and another outside vendor to ensure that Copperas Cove ISD students would enjoy their traditional Thanksgiving meal at school prior to the holiday break, Child Nutrition Director Melissa Bryan found herself scrambling when both the USDA and the outside vendor cancelled.
“This year has been a trial for us all with all the shortages and delivery issues. There is not a day that goes by that we don’t have something not delivered or a letter from a company discontinuing a product that we have been using and purchasing from them for years,” Bryan said. “I normally order all my turkeys in December of the previous year from USDA. I had placed my order and was expecting our normal delivery. Seeing the trends in shortages, I also ordered from a different vendor just to make sure we had some turkey for our kiddos. Both of those orders got cut and dropped for delivery and production issues. That left me scrambling trying to figure out my next step. I knew that there was no way I was going to allow our kids to not enjoy a Thanksgiving feast this year.”
Bryan said she spoke with many other districts experiencing the same challenges and most districts decided to serve their normal menu and no turkey.
“That was not an option for us. The child nutrition administrative staff and I began looking for alternatives and making phone calls. Our persistence paid off and we were able to order and receive 68 cases of turkey,” Bryan said. “But the downside is that they were raw turkeys and we have never cooked or served raw turkeys. I shared with all managers and their head cashiers that we were putting a team together to cook, cool, slice and package all those turkeys for all the schools after normal scheduled hours. The staff on all campuses were just as determined as I was that our kids would indeed have a Thanksgiving feast.”
The team of nine staff worked a total of 85 extra hours cooking, cooling, sliced and packaging 1,200 pounds of turkey. Child nutrition staff prepared 1,515 pounds of sweet potatoes, 504 pounds of cornbread dressing, 900 pounds of green beans, and 4,759 bread rolls.
"My son enjoyed the Thanksgiving lunch,” said Mae Stevens Early Learning Academy parent Myeshia Roach. “He came home saying the mashed potatoes were yum, yum, yummy."
Bryan said she is thankful to work at CCISD.
“For many kids in our district, this may be the only traditional Thanksgiving meal they have this holiday season,” Bryan said. “I am grateful to our child nutrition staff for always stepping up to the plate and making the impossible happen for the kids here at Copperas Cove ISD.”
###
Additional settings for Safari Browser.
