Cafeterias in the same district can run very differently. Flavor preferences shift by grade level, and some locations are harder to staff than others, so each site needs its own approach. Site-level profit and loss statements (P&Ls) give nutrition leaders the information to increase participation, cut waste, and ease staffing strain.
Districts already using site-level P&Ls are seeing results. Brett Foster, MBA, SNS, Executive Director of School Nutrition at Knox County Schools, shared her experience with us at ANC 2026. Site-level P&Ls were one part of the strategy that found $1 million in her program’s budget. That money now benefits the kids, instead of slipping through the cracks, and helps keep her program stable for the long term.
The power of a site-level school nutrition profit and loss statement
Districtwide averages can hide more than they reveal. A high-volume high school and a small elementary school have different cost structures, including labor ratios, equipment, vendor pricing, and production volumes. A decision that works for the district may not work for every building.
Site-level P&Ls show what’s working and what needs attention at each cafeteria. When school nutrition software makes it easy to break down data by building site, district leaders and kitchen managers learn from each other. When you compare similar schools side by side instead of measuring every site against one districtwide average, you can tell which losses are structural and which need only a local adjustment.
Build buy-in with transparency
Showing a kitchen manager what’s working at a similar school builds buy-in. Handing a manager a number and telling them to cut costs rarely works. Site-specific data shows which line item is driving a loss and what they stand to gain by changing it.
When kitchen managers see wins at their own locations, they become the strongest advocates for site-level P&Ls, and the approach gains momentum across the district.
Familiar serving practices can go out of style
Material costs keep rising, and policies or habits from a few years ago may no longer make sense. Lids on every tray or food served in disposable boats add real cost when you multiply them across every meal, every site, every day.
A practice that’s convenient at one location may not be worth the cost at another. Review each site’s needs and alternatives. Even if only a few locations cut back on or drop one packaging item, the savings add up over a year.
Racking up wins with site-by-site management
Purchasing isn’t the only place where managing each site individually saves money. Menu items that go unsold at one school but sell out at another may point to a marketing gap. Say the new cheese sticks sell out at one school and sit untouched at another. Check whether the digital menu boards at the second school feature them. That one small change could turn the item around and bring more kids into the cafeteria line instead of packing their lunch.
Staffing is another area to look at. From scheduling to cross-training on registers, what works at one cafeteria could save another time and stress. Site-level P&Ls help district leaders spot those differences and start the conversations that fix them.
Knox County Schools runs this exact model across 90 sites. See how it added up to a million–dollar opportunity.