Houston ISD Gears Up Central Kitchen

The Houston Independent School District is gearing up production from its new $50 million centralized kitchen facility, reports the Houston Chronicle. The modern cooking, storage and distribution complex, which has its own water tower and electricity generators, will eventually prepare components for some 220,000 daily meals for the district.

The prepared food is delivered in bulk to be rethermed onsite. Eight schools began getting their food from the facility in October as a pilot. All of the district’s nearly 300 campuses are slated to be participating by next fall. The facility is expected to pay for itself from efficiencies brought by consolidation and bulk purchasing. Houston ISD’s foodservices are managed by Aramark.