EAST PROVIDENCE — Believe it or not, one of the many hats Kim Mercer wears as superintendent of East Providence Schools is that of being the city’s de facto largest restauranteur, the buildings she’s charged with managing feeding thousands of students each day, week and month of this and any term.
So it should come as no surprise Mrs. Mercer was beaming with a bit of pride last week while showing off the latest improvements to both the high school and Martin Middle School cafeterias along with Chartwells director of food service for the district Melissa Read. Chartwells is a subsidiary of the Compass Group North America, a North Carolina-based cafeteria provider.
Ms. Read made a presentation to the School Committee in January about the proposed renovations to the eating areas at EPHS, the Kanelos Dining Hall, and Martin. The new contract agreed upon between the department and Chartwells in April of 2014 called for renovations of the cafeterias in the schools. Upon review, the eating facilities at the high school and Martin were deemed most in need of in-depth remodeling.
“We’re trying to keep up with the trends in the marketplace. We’re trying to capture the kids’ attention and gain their participation,” Ms. Read said.
Each cafeteria received improvements to presentation stations, which allow for a greater variety of menu options, easier access and faster service. Assessments of the cafeterias were done in September of last year. Work was completed during the just past April vacation. The cost was approximately $121,000.
“The difference in the cost to remodel as opposed to taking it all out and redoing was not signify more so we decided to just rip it up and start fresh,” Superintendent Mercer explained.
The word “fresh” is a key element to the improvements made at each school. Students now have greater access to a wider variety of produce and entrees made to order.
Ms. Read highlighted what she termed the “out-front service,” areas where Chartwells chefs prepare food as their customers wait and watch. They can choose from among other things daily specials, a “Build a Bun” station for sandwiches, different varieties of pizzas, a yogurt bar and a fully stocked salad bar.
“The renovations were all about ways to enhance service and to make the food more appealing to the eye,” Ms. Read said. “We created the different stations. We have the ‘action’ cooking in front of the students. They get to see how the food is prepared and what goes in it.”
Another important improvement was to the traffic patterns and aesthetics in both locations. While the flow of the EPHS cafeteria remains on the exterior, it’s much brighter, includes flat screen video boards mounted on stage-like scaffolding and is generally more eyecatching. Those video screens will display nutrition information and menu options among other notes of interest to the students in the fall, Ms. Read added.
“We were able to do this because we received tremendous support of the School Committee and the superintendent,” Ms. Read said. “What we’re really trying to do here is remove the stigma of ‘mystery meat of the day’ and create a more appealing experience for the kids.”
It’s apparently worked. Students seem to have embraced the new setting and offerings.
“I like the new specials. Everything so far has been really good,” said EPHS junior Jarron Santos.
Sophomore Nathan Silveira said, “It definitely makes the room look better.” Said Santos, “Yeah, it looks cool. It looks like a stage.
Silveira continued, “The food is definitely better.” “Yeah it is,” Santos added. “They actually talk you though what they’re producing, which is cool.”
The flow at the MMS cafeteria, where the offerings are a bit less expansive though still emphasizes healthy eating, has been transformed into a T formation. Students enter through a center aisle and exit either to the right or to the left. And the preparation area has been moved out front from behind the wall.
“It’s a major breathe of fresh air,” Ms. Read said of the MMS upgrades.
Improving the appearance of not just cafeterias in city schools but in many other aspects of the buildings had been at the fore of Mrs. Mercer’s now two-year tenure as superintendent. She’s pleased with the results, though noted other improvements have been made while still more needs to get done.
“Doesn’t this look terrific?” the superintendent said. “This is great, but there are a lot of other things we’re doing that people don’t see like the plumbing and the HVAC. We’re working on all of those things. We have a lot of things we still need to take care of, but it takes time.”
