Board renews Chartwells meal contract amid parent complaints about food quality and staff conditions

The Asheville City Schools board voted May 4 to renew its contract with Chartwells for school nutrition services after an extended discussion that included public complaints about food quality, disposable serviceware, and staff working conditions.

Parents and a third-grade student described recent declines in meal quality, citing spoiled fruit, chocolate milk problems and increased use of processed items and disposables. Christina Mason, a parent, told the board she had emailed staff about student feedback and union-documented working-condition problems and urged the board not to renew Chartwells without addressing those concerns.

Board members acknowledged the public complaints and the vendor’s recent change in local management. Several members said they have heard quality concerns before and asked staff to work with Chartwells’ new local lead; others urged a longer-term review of whether returning food service in-house would be feasible. One board member said the district had previously seen revenue losses when food services were brought in-house and worried about that tradeoff.

After discussion and a motion, the board approved the Chartwells contract; the vote included recorded nays. The board asked staff to follow up on complaints, to assess whether Chartwells’ new management has improved operations, and to prepare cost/benefit analysis of in-house vs. contracted food services ahead of future contract cycles.

What happens next: staff will investigate the specific complaints, continue monitoring Chartwells’ performance under the renewed contract, and prepare an analysis of long-term vendor options for future decision-making.