The Food and Nutrition Services Center is comprised of three major areas:

• Central Production Facility (CPF)
• Food Services Warehouse
• Food and Nutrition Services Administrative Office

The Central Production Facility (CPF)

The CPF is a state-of-the-art automated food production center approved by the Board of Education in response to increasing student enrollment and the need to improve the cost efficiency of food production operations.

How is the Central Production Facility different from the previous food services operations?

The CPF replaced four central kitchens located in various parts of the county that produced school meals for MCPS elementary schools. It also reduces the size and operations of the secondary school kitchens because menu components will be received at the school ready to be finished and served. From preparation to presentation, the CPF allows for uniform and consistent quality of school meals while enabling schools to offer a wider variety of items on the menu than they were able to produce on their own, due to centralized production. Catering services for a variety of functions are available from the CPF. The CPF also allows food services personnel to assure the nutritional integrity of the food being served to MCPS students.

What does the CPF look like?

The MCPS Central Production Facility of 30,000 square feet has seven major areas related to the preparation and production of school meals prior to their short-term storage and distribution to schools:

How do meals prepared at the CPF get to the schools?

All finished food products are temporarily stored in product coolers prior to being loaded onto MCPS refrigerated delivery trucks for delivery to schools. Delivery trucks carry mixed loads of warehouse food items and finished food products. The CPF eliminates the "dead miles" that empty trucks had to make in reaching the former central kitchens located in various parts of the county.

How does the CPF benefit the MCPS student?

Montgomery County Public Schools enrollment in 2007-2008 is 137,000 students located in 200 buildings. Adequate and wholesome nutrition is a necessary prerequisite for successful learning. MCPS provides healthy and well-balanced school meals to students and thereby ensures that they are ready to learn to the best of their ability. The CPF allows the school system to offer a greater variety of healthy and creative meals to students in a more cost-efficient and controlled manner. In the end, everyone is a winner!

The Food Services Warehouse

The Food and Nutrition Services Center includes a 22,500 square foot warehouse that contains the inventory of products needed to prepare school meals. Through annual, monthly, and weekly production planning and menu development, foods are purchased in bulk quantities, stock is rotated to ensure freshness, ordering schedules allow for the receipt of fresh ingredients from vendors on the day they are to be used in production, and food and non-food items that are used frequently are delivered in bulk directly to the schools.

The food service warehouse receives, stores, and distributes food and supplies to schools, Montgomery County agencies, non-profit organizations, and school systems in other counties. The warehouse consists of 15,000 square feet of dry storage, 6,000 square feet of frozen food storage, and 1,500 square feet of refrigerated storage.

Programs serviced by the central Food Service Warehouse:

• MCPS School Breakfast and Lunch - Central Production Facility; Satellite Kitchens (132); On-Site Kitchens (65); Total Schools : 197
• MCPS Alternative Education Sites (6)
• MCPS Outdoor Education - Smith Center
• CESC Cafeteria
• MCPS Home Economics, PTA's & MCPS Offices
• MC Senior Citizens - Daily delivery of hot meals
• MC/Private Day-care - Daily delivery of hot meals
• MSDE Warehouse for USDA Commodities
• Catering
• MC Summer Program
• MC Detention Center – Grocery and Disposable Supplies

The dry warehouse has been equipped with a ventilation system which maintains air circulation throughout the dry storage area. Overhead heaters are also provided to help maintain the warehouse temperature and prevent product from freezing.

All receiving doors are equipped with both loading lights and dock shelters. The dock shelters are useful in protecting the cleanliness and temperature control of the warehouse. They can also serve as additional dock security because they form a protective seal around the truck.

The entire facility is equipped with an electronic security system. The system monitors all exterior doors and windows, refrigerator and freezer temperatures, plant equipment, and motion detectors throughout the building. The system is monitored and controlled by several keypads located in the building. Once the system is armed, any breach in security is automatically reported immediately to the MCPS security office.

• Dry foods (Purchased & USDA commodity)
• Paper products
• Small equipment
• Cleaning supplies
• Bread

Ceiling height of dry area is 22', of which we utilize up to 20'. The pallet rack has 16.5' uprights and is a combination of a 3 and 4 level configuration. The rack is of an adjustable design which allows the cube of the storage area to be geared efficiently to product requirements. Some deep reach racks are used in this area along with a deep reach fork lift with a lifting capacity of 2500 pounds to 205". Bridges of racking have been constructed which allow warehouse personnel to travel under sections of racking while utilizing the area above for storage.

Freezer and Refrigerator Areas

Product handled:

• Frozen foods (Purchased & USDA commodity)
• Refrigerated foods (Purchased & USDA commodity)
• Produce (Purchased & USDA commodity)
• Cook-chill product

Ceiling height of the freezer and refrigerated area is 15'4", of which we utilize approximately 14'. The rack in this area has 12' adjustable uprights, is of a 2 and 3 level configuration and uses a high percentage of deep reach racking to maximize the cubic area of the freezer, thereby increasing the number of cases stored per cubic foot. This is essential due to the costliness of frozen food storage. Increasing the number of cases stored also allows the refrigeration equipment to operate more cost effectively, since it operates more efficiently the greater the number of cases stored. Bridges of racking have been constructed over travel space between the aisles, which allows warehouse personnel to travel under sections of racking while utilizing the area above for storage.

28^o Room

Product handled:

• Pre-plate meals
• Cook-chill product
• Sliced Meats & Cheeses
• Salads (meats & egg)

Ceiling height of the 28 degree storage area is 22', of which we utilize approximately 20'. The racks in this area consist of 16.5' uprights set up in a 4 level configuration. Deep reach racking is used to maximize the cubic storage space available. The rack is of an adjustable design to gear storage areas to actual product requirements. A bridge of rack is constructed over the travel space between the aisles to utilize the area above for storage. The entire storage area is equipped with an in-rack sprinkler system for fire suppression. In addition to storing cook-chill product, sliced meats and cheeses, and pre-plated meals, the 28 degree warehouse is used to temper product for production purposes.

The key element to all of the methods and procedures used in the dry, frozen, and 28 degree warehouses is to maximize utilization of the cubic storage area available in order to facilitate efficient storage of product, and to allow purchases in larger quantities. These practices result in both lower purchase prices and reduced storage costs. Narrow aisle, deep reach fork lifts are utilized in all storage areas to maximize the available storage space.

Selection, Receiving and Inventory Control

Warehouse personnel select dry, refrigerated, and frozen product through the use of 8 electric pallet trucks. The same material handling equipment used in the dry warehouse can be used in the freezer since it is equipped with a freezer package. Shipping lists are sorted by location sequence, and utilized by warehouse personnel in the selection of product. All selected product is placed on pallets, marked by stop and staged by run, for next day delivery. Selected orders are checked prior to shipment for accuracy. Driver manifests are printed, listing quantities of meals, bread, fruit, and ala-carte items to be delivered to each school. Warehouse personnel utilize this information to select cook-chill product and pre-plated meals by delivery route and stage them in the 28 degree warehouse. Bread is selected and staged by delivery route in the dry warehouse. Meals, cook-chill product, and bread are packed in baskets and stacked on dollies for ease of handling in the warehouse and loading on trucks.

Receiving is a very critical function of the operation. It is at this point that MCPS becomes a part of the food chain which will ultimately be consumed by students, employees, senior citizens, day-care sites, the needy, and various other outside organizations. All receiving is done by appointment only. At the time of receipt, product is checked and inspected for quantity and quality. Further checks are done to assure that the product meets MCPS specifications and is in compliance with health and sanitation regulations. These initial checks are vital for an effective inventory control program, an effective integrated pest management program, and to insure that product is fit for human consumption. Inspection for rodent and insect infestation and/or harborage is important at this stage to avoid contaminating foods already stored in the warehouse.

The warehouse is equipped with automatic dock boards for truck receiving and shipping. These dock boards can service trucks with deck levels 12" below to 12" above dock level. For rail receiving, the warehouse is equipped with dock boards which are fastened to the building directly outside the doors. Electric pallet trucks are used to unload trucks and to transport receipts to the appropriate area. To off-load slip-sheeted rail cars, a fork lift with a special attachment is used which eliminates unnecessary manual handling. When rail cars are floor loaded, each case must be manually handled. This process is much more strenuous and labor intensive.

After receipt, inventory control is maintained in the warehouse by checking product selected for shipment, inventorying the items with selection mistakes, conducting weekly cyclical counts, conducting annual inventories, and by maintaining good security practices.

Delivery

Cargo product is delivered daily to the CPF. CPF deliveries are made by transporting the product using a pallet truck or forklift to ingredient control or pre-plate areas. On-site kitchens receive one or two cargo deliveries per week. Satellite kitchens receive delivery of pre-plated meals, bread, and ala-carte items daily, and cargo deliveries once per week. A typical load consists of dry, refrigerated, and frozen cargo; pre-plated meals, bread, fruit, ala-carte items, and cook-chill product. By maintaining the refrigerated cargo bodies of the trucks at 35 to 38 degrees during transport, the integrity of the dry, refrigerated, and frozen product can be maintained. This eliminates the need to run separate trucks for dry, refrigerated, and frozen product, which in turn minimizes the number of stops per day, total miles traveled, and the number of trucks and delivery personnel required.

Delivery to the schools is accomplished with 15 trucks per day. Each truck follows an established delivery route to schools located within a local geographic area. In addition to the above deliveries, 21 senior citizen/day-care sites are delivered on a daily basis. These stops are consolidated into the established 15 routes. Special deliveries are made to catering events as required. During the summer deliveries are made to Montgomery County summer programs.

Warehouse personnel begin pulling product from refrigerated, frozen, and 28 degree storage areas and staging it for loading on trucks at 3:00 AM. All product from the different storage areas is merged together for each stop as it is loaded on the trucks. Loading of trucks commences by 3:30 AM and is normally completed by 6:30 AM.

Sanitation and Pest Control

An integrated pest management program is in effect at the Food Service Warehouse. Three techniques of IPM used include:

• Sanitation - Removal of food, water, and shelter
• Mechanical Control - traps and electrocution
• Inspection

The warehouse utilizes pheromone, "ketch all," and black light traps to monitor and control pest populations. Good housekeeping practices are consistently maintained to eliminate sources of food, water, and areas for pest harborage. If food product is found to be contaminated or infested, it is immediately segregated and the appropriate steps are taken to salvage or destroy the affected product. FIFO is practiced in order to reduce the chance of grain products becoming infested.

Warehouse Administration

Warehouse personnel are responsible for the prompt flow of paperwork at the time of product receipt. Upon receipt of product, invoices or bills of lading are forwarded to accounting. Prompt routing of invoices and bills of lading to accounting is essential to take advantage of prompt payment discounts. Copies of purchase orders are kept in pending files until orders are complete. Once the purchase order is complete, it is forwarded to accounting for audit purposes.

The following activities are accomplished by warehouse staff:

• Ordering product from vendors
• Expediting overdue shipments
• Daily scheduling of inbound shipments
• Daily routing of shipping lists
• Coordination and disbursement of shipping lists for selection
• Coordination of truck repairs and service
• Coordination of material handling equipment repairs and service
• Order taking and computer input for outside agency orders
• Examination of driver's completed paperwork
• Answering phone inquiries
• Calculating daily breakdown of meals and bread
  

The Food & Nutrition Services Administrative Office

The Food and Nutrition Services Center contains an administrative management area of 7,500 square feet in which food services management personnel supervise the entire planning, purchasing, preparation, production, delivery and service elements of the MCPS school meals program. Production support activities at the facility include menu development and planning, quality control and assurance, nutritional analysis, product development, employee training, in-process food testing, and system-wide food services coordination.

The Division of Food and Nutrition Services administers the National School Lunch and Breakfast Program, the Summer Food Service Program, the Child and Adult Care Food Program, and the Commodity Distribution Program. Services are provided to senior citizens, day-care centers, and after school programs.

Updated September 2007| Maintained by Webmaster