ARAMARK Awarded Rhode Island Department of Education's Statewide Food Services Contract

PHILADELPHIA, June 12, 2013 /PRNewswire/ -- ARAMARK, a global leader delivering food, facilities and uniform services, announced today that it has once again been selected by the Rhode Island Department of Education (RIDE) to execute the Statewide School Food Service Program.

RIDE initiated the statewide partnership with ARAMARK in 2007 to ensure that public and charter schools throughout Rhode Island would have access to a high quality, nutrition based food program.  Over the past five years, ARAMARK has provided students with healthful, USDA compliant meals and snacks, while increasing cost savings for each participating district and turning initial budget deficits into positive financial returns.

"ARAMARK has been able to provide food services to Rhode Island schools at a competitive cost," said Deborah A. Gist, Rhode Island Commissioner of Elementary and Secondary Education. "The ARAMARK team has worked with our school districts to maintain high standards for health and customer service and to implement our school-nutrition requirements."

ARAMARK's agreement with RIDE is a five-year umbrella agreement (including renewals) pursuant to which ARAMARK and any participating district execute a separate form contract developed by RIDE, beginning in school year 2013 - 2014. However, the RIDE form contract allows ARAMARK to create customized food service programs for participating districts based on district-specific criteria in order to preserve preferences and provide flexibility to set meal pricing based on each district's unique needs.

"We are proud of our successful collaboration with the Rhode Island Department of Education and are committed to delivering outstanding services that help the State's districts and students flourish," said Dennis Maple, President, ARAMARK Education.  "As a valued partner, we recognize the importance of supporting the nutrition and well-being of Rhode Island's students while also helping the State manage its fiscal responsibilities." 

While participation in the statewide contract is not required, according to RIDE, this important initiative has delivered considerable results including:

• Streamlining contracting by eliminating a localized RFP process;
• Offering a very competitive fee structure with a robust fiscal guarantee;
• Achieving lower costs, improved services and increased student participation at the district level;
• Increasing efficiency of statewide operations such as data/payment issues, purchase and distribution of commodities, staff professional development (including wellness education), and upgrades and maintenance of equipment;
• Improving the nutrition, health and well being of Rhode Island's students by meeting high nutrition standards of foods offered;
• Reducing or eliminating budget shortfalls;
• Developing a consistent meal accountability technology system among the school districts and standardizing fiscal reporting forms; and
• Allowing increased state oversight of nutrition and student health issues.

About ARAMARK Education
ARAMARK Education provides a complete range of food, facility, uniform and other support services to more than 500 K-12 school districts in the U.S.  It offers public and private education institutions a family of dining and facility services including:  on-site and off-site breakfast and lunch meal programs, after-school snacks, catering, nutrition education, retail design and operations, maintenance, custodial, grounds, energy management, construction management, and building commissioning.  For more information on ARAMARK's K-12 food service programs, please visit www.aramarkschools.com.

About ARAMARK
ARAMARK delivers experiences that enrich and nourish people's lives through innovative food, facility, and uniform services. United by a passion to serve, our more than 250,000 employees make a meaningful difference each day for millions of people around the world. ARAMARK is recognized among the Most Admired Companies by FORTUNE and World's Most Ethical Companies by the Ethisphere Institute.  Learn more at www.aramark.com or connect with us on Facebook and Twitter.

SOURCE ARAMARK