NORTH RIDGEVILLE CITY SCHOOL DISTRICT – NORTH RIDGEVILLE, OH

CASE STUDY:

PARTNERSHIP OVERVIEW

Some school dining programs experience a classic phenomenon: When students are happy with their dining

experience, it boosts the morale of dining staff members, as well.

In 2016, North Ridgeville City Schools saw a spike in employee engagement after it hired Aramark as its dining

program outsource partner. Since then, both student dining satisfaction and staff job satisfaction have been on an

upward trajectory.

Before partnering with us, the North Ridgeville City Schools lacked innovation in the kitchen. The six schools

mostly served processed, heat-and-serve entrees with little flavor. While there was a salad bar in the high school

cafeteria, fresh ingredients were unavailable to inspire staff members to create unique and healthy dishes. “There

wasn’t anything special for the students to get excited about, so the dining staff didn’t have anything to get

excited about either,” said Foodservice Director Kyle Suerth.

180-Degree Culinary TransformationNorth Ridgeville decided it was time to disrupt the status quo and hire a third party to transform their dining

services. After interviewing several contenders, the district chose Aramark. Key to the decision were our dining

innovation and the quality of our culinary program, including from-scratch preparation and local-sourcing options.

The thought of inspiring and educating dining staff members was the most intriguing part of our pitch.

In less than a year, we helped North Ridgeville schools achieve a 180-degree improvement in both student

participation in the dining program and staff job satisfaction. The new dining program sparked a passion in

employees, and students couldn’t wait to see what the kitchen was cooking up next.

The high school saw lunches served nearly double, going from about 220 to a whopping 400 meals daily. This

was impressive to staff members, considering students in good academic standing were allowed to opt out of

taking a lunch period. North Ridgeville High School students were choosing to eat at school.

Breakfast participation also improved, with the addition of simple, nutritional menu options. When students take

the time to eat a healthy breakfast before their first class, their tendency to be able to focus and participate

during lectures significantly increases. Instead of purchasing sugary snacks or visiting a drive-thru before class,

North Ridgeville students were fueling their bodies with healthy, ready-to-serve breakfast items at school.

Students were loving the variety of delicious, innovative breakfast and lunch options and telling all about their

positive experiences through Aramark’s annual ViewPOINT™ survey. “One girl took me aside and told me, ‘Your

pizza is my life,’” Suerth said. “They are really enjoying and excited about our from-scratch pizza, sandwiches

and salads. They’re choosing them over either local fast food places or their homes. It’s really rewarding and

satisfying for us.”

Revitalized Staff EngagementAlong with all of the new food innovations, we also addressed staff training in a positive and proactive way. “We

make sure every employee is comfortable and confident in their roles through several sessions of high-quality,

hands-on training, including Aramark best practices, recipes and food safety standards,” Suerth said. “This not

only helps build their confidence, but also their engagement in and excitement for the program.”

Before the partnership, one of the school’s long-time employees made the same amount of salads every single

day. As a result, her enthusiasm for her job was low. After the schools dining service makeover, she was put in

charge of creating and fulfilling as many as 100 sub sandwich orders coming in daily from students. “She comes

to work with a greater sense of purpose,” Suerth noted.

Community ConnectionWe didn’t want to stop at the schools, though, so we created a multi-pronged community outreach effort that

has generated a high level of support over the years. We launched community initiatives to promote healthy

lifestyles with a healthy living program and a “fun run.”

“We’ve created a presence in the community to let them know we’re here and we’re promoting healthy living for

them and their children,” Suerth said.

We offer desirable meal options including a customizable program with better-quality ingredients. It’s much better than just taking something frozen out of a box as had been done in the past.”

— Kyle Suerth, Foodservice Director

“

3 BIG NORTH RIDGEVILLE CITY SCHOOLS-ARAMARK WINS

STUDENT-DRIVEN DINING PROGRAM IMPROVEMENTSWithin months of partnering, we brought new dining options to all schools. At the high school, we added food court-style station brands, such as Green Street Deli, which includes toasted sandwiches and salad bar; Custom Bros. Grill, which includes burgers and chicken sandwiches; Home Zone, which features special meal promotions, “entrées of the day” and five rotating made-to-order bars; and Java City with grab-and-go wraps, salads, muffins, yogurt parfaits and a full coffee bar with iced coffee, hot coffee and flavored syrup pumps.

• Doubled high school lunch participation • 60% increase in district-wide breakfast sales • Participation increased from 1,680 students a day to 2,300 in just one year

At the middle school, we launched made-to-order bars, and at the elementary schools we launched our Cool Caf concept. We also added whole-grain smart snacks for purchase at all schools.

POSITIVE STUDENT FEEDBACK AND EMPLOYEE ENGAGEMENTThe schools’ dining innovations have received exemplary feedback in our annual Student ViewPOINT survey, local surveys and students’ direct feedback. In particular, students love the made-from-scratch options, even opting to eat lunch at high school when they could drive home or go to local fast food restaurants.

The staff’s enthusiasm was revived on two levels: First, from serving students who were excited with their new dining choices, and second, from hands-on job training and renewed motivation. Staff morale has risen exponentially as students’ excitement about their dining program has increased. One of the results is improved employee retention in just one school year.

HEALTH INITIATIVE FOR THE COMMUNITY We expanded the school district’s community involvement to promote healthy living. The program now covers a wide range of activities, from school promotions to local events.

• School promotions: Aramark’s Fuel and Ace programs • Community events: District fun runs, sporting events, open houses, public presentations, board meetings, canned food drives and a Heart & Sole Wellness event

Since launching our health initiatives in North Ridgeville City School District, the schools have experienced a significant increase in support from the local community.

For more information visit us at:K12INSIGHTS.ARAMARK.COM