'Hidden Costs'? Lyons Township High's Food Firm Choice Questioned

LA GRANGE, IL – Lyons Township High School's recommendation for a food provider is coming under question by a competitor.

Last week, administrators advised the school board to select Lombard-based Quest Food Management Services to replace longtime provider, Sodexo.

The school is passing over another company, Chicago-based OrganicLife, even though students favored it in a taste-testing competition.

A week ago, OrganicLife's president, Justin Rolls, wrote a five-page letter listing reasons for the board to question the recommendation. The board is set to vote on a five-year contract Monday.

In his letter, Rolls noted the taste-testing.

"If students are to be given a genuine voice, we respectfully question why their strong preference appears to have been set aside without additional due diligence, such as reference checks or clarifying questions to OrganicLife," he said. "As far as we know, nobody has reached out to any of our references or visited any of the schools for a site visit to date."

He also said Quest appears to have provided a new or revised contract a few hours before last week's board meeting. That was well after the deadline for companies to turn in proposals, he said.

Rolls urged the board to carefully scrutinize any late-stage contract changes.

"These may include references to 'assumptions,' 'investments,' or other obligations that become hidden costs, effectively binding LTHS to a multi-year term through debt or 'forgivable loans,'" he said. "Some of Quest's contract terms appear to pass certain operating costs directly to the District or tie the District to the contract for multiple years through 'forgivable' investment obligations."

Asked for comment Wednesday, Quest's president, Nick Saccaro, said the letter contained "misleading and mischaracterized claims."

After the school informed Quest that it was being recommended to the board, he said, the administration sent the firm's proposed contract to its lawyer to review beforehand.

The marked-up contract was sent back to Quest three days before the board's May 5 meeting.

"No material changes were made by the District, its counsel, or Quest that would cause the agreement to materially vary in any way from our proposal to the District," Saccaro said in an email.

Mary Lin Muscolino, the school's spokeswoman, agreed, saying none of the firms were allowed to change their proposals. The school's lawyer asked Quest to make changes to the contract, all of which were in the school's favor, she said.

"(The school's) intention is to have a seamless transition, and we understand that this will require sufficient time for a new vendor to take the necessary steps in preparation for the upcoming school year," Muscolino said.

Last year, OrganicLife replaced Quest in suburban Batavia's schools. In contrast to Quest, Organic Life says it provides the same offerings to all students, including recipients of the free and reduced-price lunch program.

"This completely prevents overt identification and brings total equity to all students," OrganicLife's Rolls said in the letter to the board.

At Batavia, OrganicLife dismantled the "Bulldog Meal" at Batavia High School, a meal permitted for free and reduced-price recipients, he said.

That change resulted in most such recipients choosing to take a meal every day, he said.

"Along with overwhelmingly higher food quality, we are now serving more students there than ever before under Quest's previous stewardship," Rolls said.

Sodexo has been the high school's food provider since at least 1996, according to the school.

At last week's meeting, officials said what put Quest over the top is its guarantee of a financial return of nearly $1.1 million to the school over five years. That is far higher than its competitors, the school said.

In April 2024, Quest replaced Sodexo in Barrington School District 220 for food service from kindergarten through eighth grade. It got the contract for the high school in 2019.

In that district, a three-member committee recommended Quest to serve the younger students. The panel was made up of Assistant Superintendent of Business Services David Bein, who started in 2018, and two of his subordinates.

"Despite increasing overall costs, selecting Quest Food Management Services reflects the prioritization of quality, student well-being, and community preferences over solely price considerations," Bein said in a memo at the time.

About six months later, Quest announced on LinkedIn that Bein had been hired as a part-time client advocate for the company. He retired from the school district in June 2024.

"Mr. Bein is a well-known, highly-respected school administrator and past President of the Illinois Association of School Business Officials," Saccaro said in his email to Patch. "He served in administrative roles for nearly two decades and has served as a professor for school administrator doctoral programs. He is one of the most principled, ethical people I know."

He said the Barrington district chose his company both times after formal request-for-proposal processes involving the district's lawyer and board. In 2024, it was also reviewed by the Illinois School Board of Education, he said.

"Student participation has grown by over 100% in the time we have served Barrington High School," Saccaro said. "We have earned the District's trust based on our performance and by the way we have shown up to the District as a true partner."