Food Services

Key Contacts

In-LEA Innovation Schools 

Schools that are within the IPS LEA do not have an option of not using IPS Food Service. The IPS Food Service Team will provide food and full labor for lunch, breakfast, and a snack program. There is no charge for this labor or for the food. 

Charter Schools in Partnership with IPS 

Charter schools will need to contact the Indiana Department of Education to become a food service site. The suggested contact is Sarah Kenworthy, skenworthy@doe.in.gov, 317-232-0857. 

Staffing: IPS food service will provide breakfast, lunch, and snack vendor for any Innovation Network Charter. IPS does not provide labor for any of our Innovation Charter schools. New operators and new LEA’s should reference the innovation services catalog for instructions on the foodservice reimbursement process. 

Out of IPS LEA partners in IPS buildings: Innovation network charter partners in IPS buildings do have the option to opt out of IPS foodservice. Please note that IPS kitchens are designed to work specifically as warming kitchens. A full prep and cook model would require a redesign of the kitchen at the cost of the operator. These designs must be approved by FMD prior to implementation. 

Key Food Service Updates

Food items will be grouped with other items of a similar price point, and placed into Tiers (e.g., Tier 3 contains breakfast and lunch entrees, as well as fresh fruits and vegetables due to similar pricing) to capture costs more accurately. The IPS Foodservice Department has been experiencing supply chain issues, and we are expecting those to continue into the upcoming school year. We are working with manufacturers, and our distributors to thoughtfully balance our menu to maximize cost savings without sacrificing variety and quality given the circumstances. The overall cost increase expected per site for the 2024-25 school year is around 3% from the previous year. 

If you are opting into IPS food services, please work with Dena Bond and Jessica Brown in the summer before each school year to align on all aspects of IPS food service.

Food Service Considerations