NEW UPDATE: SAUSD Superintendent Thelma Melendez de Santa Ana just sent me an email indicating that:
“The Santa Ana Unified School District is looking into programs that will allow us to donate excessive food that we are not able to use because of over ordering or food that was not used in production. We are in communication with other districts such as Los Angeles Unified that have similar donation programs.”
The District is committed to continuing best practices that ensure that the investments made to our schools are utilized in an efficient and effective manner that best serves our students.”
UPDATE: SAUSD Superintendent Thelma Melendez de Santa Ana has responded to the charges raised in this post, via email. As always we thank the Superintendent for her prompt response and feedback. Here is her response:
After meeting with our Deputy Superintendent, who oversees our Food Services team, he informed me of the following in response to your inquiry:
“We have been diligently working with the food services department to review and identify operational efficiencies and improvements in the areas of food safety, food costs, and forecasting of student demand. These best practices are designed to build in accountability, identify and reduce waste, and ensure food safety.
One of the practices implemented just after the school year began is a daily “discard log”, which records the types and quantity of food that is discarded in an attempt to track and reduce waste. Although the District has adopted measures to improve food service operations, it is fully aware that there are still opportunities for improvement.
The District is committed to continuing best practices that ensure that the investments made to our schools are utilized in an efficient and effective manner that best serves our students.”
The OC Weekly was sent pictures of hundreds of pounds of lettuce rotting at a warehouse belonging to the Santa Ana Unified School District.
Their source Told them that “all of this lettuce would eventually be destroyed. The amount of food the district destroys is so much, according to said sources, that officials are sending rotted food to individual schools so they can dispose the boxes themselves.”
How did this happen? How did our elected School Board members ignore this? There are two incumbents running for re-election right now – Jose Alfredo Hernandez and Rob Richardson. What are their excuses? And what about Roman Reyna? He is currently an SAUSD Trustee and he is running for Ward 5 on the Santa Ana City Council. Either he did not know about this or he knew and didn’t give a damn. In either case he has egg on his face.
And there may be more to this story. A mother at John Muir Fundamental Elementary told me tonight that kids are served milk in zip lock baggies. Why do kids at other schools get milk cartons? How is this hygienic?
I took a look at John Muir’s record on the O.C. Health Agency’s Food Violation website and here is what I found:
Service Date, ROUTINE INSPECTION: 9/20/2011
Click here to read that inspection report.
And click here to look up your kid’s school’s health violation record.
I also looked up the SAUSD itself, and here is what I found:
ROUTINE INSPECTION: 9/21/2012
So who is to blame? Well, for starters, an SAUSD administrator named Mark Chavez is their Director of Food Services. You can email him here: mark.chavez@sausd.us. His Administrative Secretary is named Lupita Vidal-Ramirez. You can call her at (714) 431-1909 and email her at lupita.vidal@sausd.us.
A commenter on the OC Weekly article also wrote that “This is not the only waste the district has. The board and Sacramento should look into the Warehouse Scanners recently purchase at the 750 N. Fairview warehouse site. The Scanners cost taxpayers over $250,000.00 purchase from DATA SYSTEMS INTERNATIONAL, INC. (DSI inc.) these scanners have not been use at all. The board needs to investigate this matter and put people accountable before the pictures and data is submitted to the media. This is one of the biggies waste SAUSD has try to hide and cover up!!”
What a mess. Take a look at the SAUSD’s administrator directory. There are still too many holdovers left from the previous administration. They need to answer for this debacle.
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Well I did say that the superintendent should get the axe, but with just one year on board it is hard for an uninformed person like me to make that kind of call.
But looking at her background and education, it is hard to understand why she was picked for the position. So I am guessing that the board unanimously voted to give her the job. And her education and job experience doesn’t fit the position.
So not only should the super be replaced, but the entire elected board, and all or most of the senior management jobs.
Who are you supporting for the SAUSD School Board this year?
Janet and I have already voted. We voted for the lady with the hand painted signs. We thought that was "out of box" ingenuity.
FOR CYA..all of the following is aallegedly:::....So Mark Chavez( SAUSD Food Director) internal protectors or political favors are showing there true colors again,,,Today, on Edjoin (a website for district jobs) two Food Service jobs were posted for santa ana school district....Operation Manager and Nutrition Manager..WHY doesn't the District or HR address the TRUE issue here which is Chavez lack of leadership and knowledge. Allegedly hundreds of thousand dollars(taxpayers) are spent on outside food service consultants to assist Mark Chavez.. WHY pay Mark Chavez 6 figures salary if he needs consultant for almost every step..Mark Chavez has been the leader of the food service dept.. for ONE year now..And its still in disarray and the lame excuse of " I inherited this problem " is very old NOW...
I believe or imagine that Chavez probably ran to the District Office/Bishop crying that he was overwhelmd..Only after his department was exposed with the photos to the media regarding the above article..BUT thats not the first time for major food waste on HIS WATCH ..Does the District or Bishop or The board members know what little time he actually spends at the his office or what really happens at the Central Kitchen...????? He's not out visiting Sites...just ask the lunch supervisors at each site..? Who can account his forty hours a week??? It actually should be longer hours if he cares for his department..and being the new kid...mighty secure about his position???What do u think....
Chavez is very insecure of his abilities and will not allow anyone with any true knowledge or background in school food service... Thats probably why he uses consultants which do not threaten him or question his leadership ..For a food service director theirs a Lack of knowledge for federal and state policies and procedures...Allegedly there was a change in food vendors without a bidding process and of course Chavez came out clean and had Stella(Operation Mgr) take the fall and terminated....Chavez must have approved the change or not inform her of the federal violation...Chavez's PROTECTED AGAIN.....BUT YET AGAIN!!! SOMEONE ELSE GOT HURT!!!
QUESTION ????? TO HR / Board Memembers /MR. Bishop.....Why hand him the keys to the dept..and not post the director's job..Was it promised to him since JAN( prior food service director) was terminated on her last day of probation ...WHY NOT,.JUST HIRE A TRUE FOOD SERVICE DIRECTOR..?????Why allow so many consultant and have taxpayers pay...???????
Thelma Mendez..d discard log are not for major food waste..I think for major food waste theirs a p/p to be follow and get permission from the state to discard food..
.Someone out there PLEASE help the department so the students get better service and taxpayesr money doesnt go to waste....ITS ELECTION time plz vote...Start with new board members...Members that will stand strong against corruption....
SO WHATS HAPPENING TO THE BROCCOLI ON HAND THAT NEEDS TO BE DICARDED.....Does it disappear over nite....?????
WHY is the district looking for the whistle blower when their answer to the solution is MARK CHAVEZ...take care of problem and not tie the employees hands that are their for the kids..NO WITCH HUNT>>>>
I think you just hit the nail on the head!
Allegations-SAUSD let go of our director of 10 years...it was supposedly because she was not here dealing with our Central Kitchen...then, they got rid of another director on her last day of probation, and one of the alleged reasons was due to some cases of bananas that were wasted...Excuse me, Mark Chavez is never here, and all this food is being wasted, and we are still gettng bullied in the Central Kitchen....What is our board going to do about this?
Our question is, why is Mark Chavez not being held accountable?
Allegedly, Mr. Chavez has his children attending a different school district..are his children too good to eat in our SAUSD lunch program?
SAUSD is paying Mr. Chavez's 100k plus annual salary....yet his children attend a more AFFLUENT district....seriously?
In my opinion..that action alone SPEAKS VOLUMES!!!
Noji did the same thing. Sent her kid to a high school in Irvine.
And Reyna and Richardson don't have kids.
our morale does suck around here.....Early in the school year...our busiest time...production supervisors, field supervisors and Mark Chavez....left our central kitchen with out leadership for a photo/media day...they wore matching t-shirts that may have been purchased with our tax payers money..the central kitchen didn't even know what to do? WE HAD NO LEADERSHIP...tax dollars being spent on food service salaries so they could be on channel 6..the latino news..compliments of Mark Chavez and our taxpayers mula...WE are suppoe to be here for the students...ITS NOT RIGHT....
Is he also violating worker safety laws? If so call Cal/OSHA. They'll hammer this guy!
lol! Maybe the problem is that in the central kitchen with all that nasty PREPACKED TV dinner food...we have employees working that have no clue on food safety and have NO FOOD HANDLER's cards...this explains all the violations for NON washing of hands...EEEWWWWW!!!
Oh just to be clear..the workers allegedly do not have food handler's cards..I am sure if they do..they could produce a copy of them..right??!!
OMG! Safety? Check the refridgeration in the trucks that transport our childrens food..I wonder if it works? Or if our drivers even use the refridgeration? Is SAUSD using the refridgeration at all?
Gustavo from OC WEEKLY and EDITOR, u need 2ask around...we have sooo many issues in Food 4Thought. 1 of our issues is we have drivers that get overtime & in our opinions do not need it...we have sum that just drive around and we have to work so hard while they r just out & about...
Plus, some of the other drivers do not get the same overtme...its really not fair..but our food service director Mark Chavez in our opinions is like afraid to do anything..and we continue to suffer this kind of stuff....
In our opinions all this stuff is very unfair....maybe you should come out and see what some of these drivers do...I wont say names...but every1 knows who they are...I dont think our tax payers would like all these thins that are going on...just our opinions....
Supposedly..there was mention that both the frozen and produce vendors were replaced without a proper bidding process...I am not sure.
However, is there not a law that requires a bidding procedure when using tax payer's money?
Mark Chavez, what have you done for our children lately? Nevermind, over a year later...I know you just.."inherted the problem..."
I think we should wite a letter to our state representatives and demmand a full investigation.
from what i understand when Camille Bowden was in charge of the Central Kitchen she repremanded for hiring her in laws company for supplying the food and yet she is still working for the district and in charge of risk management benefits and food service.. Inquiring minds want to know why MR. BISHOP?
"Just as learning does not end when school lets out, neither does a child's need for good nutrition," says Mark Chavez, interim food services director for Santa Ana. "We understand that for many children who receive free and reduced-priced meals at school, summer can be a challenging time."
I have a question, what did Mark Chavez mean when he made this statement in the paper this past Summer?
here this, 2 weeks ago turkey taco was packed with
beans, turkey meat and rice, the rice was packed
next to the turkey meat while the rice was still hot,
this in my opinion is putting all the children of
Santa Ana schools at risk, ask around and many employees @
F4T will confirm this, does any one care what our kids eat.
heck with it..I HEARD or ALLEDGEDLY...the food in the central kitchen is nasty..it looks like PREPACKED dog food. The temps are off and the people don't even wear gloves half the time. This is where telemundo needs to g..to the CK at F4T.
read the new article on OC Weekly
http://blogs.ocweekly.com/stickaforkinit/2012/10/santa_ana_unified_peanut_butter.php
Allegedly when Mark Chavez started on and 9/1/2011 he was already registered in CBO class....for those of you that don't know..chief business officer course...courtesy again of sausd and our taxpayers dollars..and despite the fact that the current food service director(Jan M.)did not support this action plus Chavez was able to do this during his work hours..etc..taxpayers money at their best...doesn't look like those classes helped much..a rumor worth lookin into...state of california..WHERE are you?
Allegedly Mark Chavez paid 14k for a one month invoice to one consultant since he has no clue on what the nutritional guidelines are....Mr Chavez used several consultants ranging from $80 an hour up to 14k a month!!!Consultants passd our March audit in many areas.. Production is a different question in itself for the audit...Mark Chavez just got adminstration to approve payment..WHAT A JOKE!! And this man makes over 100k and still needs consultants...
Food service director Mark Chavez trickd the state auditors in March 2012 can Chavez do it again....
What happend to the spoiled broccoli that they had in storage this past week? allegedly it was disposed on thursday nite after work hours....WASTED TAXPAYERS FOOD DISCARDED AGAIN...SAUSD does not care.....see comments made by concern2... 3 days ago regarding the broccoli....it did disappear...!!!
IM CALLING FOR A STATE AUDIT INVESTIGATION >>>>>