North East Independent School District joins Urban School Food Alliance, brings purchasing power to nearly $900 million

WASHINGTON, Dec. 14, 2023 – The Urban School Food Alliance, a collaborative of the largest school districts in the United States, is pleased to announce that it will expand its membership to 18 districts with North East Independent School District (ISD) in San Antonio, Texas. This news pushes the group’s collective annual purchasing power to more than $895 million in food and food supplies, serving more than 4 million children across the country.

“North East ISD is an excellent addition to our growing membership and efforts,” said Dr. Katie Wilson, Urban School Food Alliance Executive Director. “The nutrition team is doing incredible work in schools, and the San Antonio community, to ensure that every child has the healthy food and habits they need to succeed. The Alliance welcomes their expertise and contributions as we continue transforming school meals.”

North East ISD educates almost 60,000 students across 70 campuses and is the second-largest school district in San Antonio and tenth largest in Texas. School Nutrition Services provides more than 9 million meals annually, and is proud to serve fresh, delicious meals that highlight Texas products and diverse flavors each day.

“North East ISD is excited to link up with this amazing group of food service programs from across the country in order to expand our operational efficiencies and gain new perspectives on innovation in large, urban school districts,” said Sharon Glosson, Executive Director of School Nutrition.

The Alliance is a data-driven nonprofit founded in 2012 by school nutrition professionals in large, urban districts with a mission to change the landscape of child nutrition by:

• Using strategic procurement to make high-quality ingredients available and affordable to schools;
• Sharing evidence-informed practices and procedures from its membership with district nationwide; and
• Leveraging its collective voice to advocate for policies that support programs and students.

Its achievements include helping school districts adopt an antibiotic-free standard for poultry, even before many of the nation’s leading restaurants called for healthier poultry on their menus, and removing 225 million polystyrene trays from landfills every year by implementing compostable round plates in school cafeterias. In October, the Alliance announced a new partnership with USDA to provide trainings and tools to school districts that will help them purchase high quality foods, while keeping costs low.