Tulsa Public Schools is bringing its child nutrition program in house for the first time in almost 20 years.
In a Friday afternoon email obtained by Public Radio Tulsa and confirmed by TPS, the district will end its child nutrition contract with Aramark effective Dec. 31. Starting Jan. 1, the program will instead be self-operating.
The district issued a written statement Monday afternoon, acknowledging the upcoming shift.
"Over the last few months, our child nutrition staff have been working with Talent Management and Finance on key activities and processes in preparation for the transition. By bringing food service in-house, the district will have greater oversight and flexibility in developing menus and expanding scratch cooking practices that provide nutritious meals that are responsive to the preferences of students. We look forward to a successful launch of our new child nutrition model following winter break."
TPS first signed a management agreement with Aramark in 2024 after working with another provider, Sodexo, for more than 15 years.
However, that partnership quickly drew community criticism, including complaints from students at multiple board meetings about food quality.
The district’s cafeteria managers also expressed concerns, including a lack of equipment, age-inappropriate portion sizes, inadequate training sessions, inconsistent communication with the Philadelphia-based company and sites’ menus and food orders getting changed without prior knowledge.
Despite being TPS employees, multiple cafeteria managers said during the 2025-2026 school year that their jobs were threatened by Aramark.
TPS’ board renewed the district’s contract with Aramark in June, with the caveat that the agreement would only be long enough to allow TPS time to fully transition its child nutrition operations to
The American Federation of Teachers Local No. 6049 is the collective bargaining unit for TPS’ support employees, including its kitchen managers and cafeteria staff. Its president, Nancy Leonard, thanked the district Monday for ending the agreement.
“We are grateful that TPS listened and worked with us to have them (Aramark) removed and we are very grateful that TPS’ board actually listened to the employees, parents and families of Tulsa Public Schools,” she said.