Food service workers at Tulsa Public Schools expressed joy and relief Monday evening as the board of education voted to move all district meal preparation in-house.
The board voted to grant Aramark one final contract for the 2026-2027 school year, but only on the condition that the district may terminate the deal when in-house operations are ready to go.
TPS officials said it took the state’s next-largest school district, Oklahoma City Public Schools, roughly six months to transition their food operations from a third-party provider to in-house.
Nancy Leonard, president of the American Federation of Teachers Local 6049, which represents TPS’ food workers, shed tears following the board’s vote.
“This is something that has been two years in the comin’,” Leonard said.
TPS’ cafeteria staff have been outspoken over what they said was poor food quality and unfair treatment from the Philadelphia-based Aramark.
“We know we’ve got a light at the end of the tunnel as we’re moving forward,” Leonard said.
Alicia Jimenez, who works at Hale High School, said Aramark chose quantity over quality.
“I get the concept that they want to serve more options,” Jimenez said, “but that means, if you serve less options, you can make better product.”
The board also voted to hire child nutrition consultant Lisa Griffin to coordinate the in-house transition. Griffin had worked as TPS’ child nutrition coordinator from 1996 to 2009 and then in the same role at Union Public Schools from 2009 to 2023.
“I’m totally excited about this,” Griffin said after the board’s vote. “I think the kids here will see a difference.”
Griffin said she left TPS in ‘09 in frustration after a failed attempt to drop the district’s previous food supplier, Sodexo. TPS subsequently replaced Sodexo with Aramark in June 2024.
Griffin said the move will not come without challenges.
“We’re going to have to do bids, we’re going to have to do all of the warehouse logistics to get it to the schools, that kind of thing,” she said. “That’s going to take some time and some extra labor, so we’re going to have to see where we can cut and move things.”
Despite the challenges, district food workers present at the meeting said they will be ready.
“With that money that you don’t spend on these third-party companies, it can go back to the employees, it can go back to what needs to be fixed internally,” Jimenez said.
Public Radio Tulsa reached out to an Aramark spokesperson for comment, but did not receive a reply in time for publication of this story.
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Editing by Michael Marcotte
