The School District of Rhinelander is pleased to announce it has entered into a one-year agreement with Taher, Inc., of Minnetonka, Minnesota, for food service.

The district sent 14 Requests For Proposals (RFPs) to regional businesses, and received two proposals. At the July 16th meeting, the Board of Education approved Taher’s proposal, which will become effective for the 2012-2013 school year.

For more than 30 years, Taher, Inc., has been a consistent and reliable partner to over 200 school districts in the Midwest, including Merrill, Minocqua, Shawano and Medford. There are more than 50 Wisconsin school districts working with Taher, and their reputation for a “chef-based food service program” was a major benefit in selecting their proposal.

Marta Kwiatkowski, Business Manager with the School District of Rhinelander, said, “Taher emphasizes freshly prepared foods, no trans-fats, more whole grain and legumes, fresh fruit and vegetables, minimally processed foods, and decreased use of food containing high-fructose corn syrup. At the elementary school levels, a minimum of two daily entree choices will be offered – made from scratch – and a fruit and vegetable bar will accompany every meal. At James Williams Middle School, a minimum of four menu selections and the fruit and vegetable bar will be offered every day. The high school food court will offer food stations with as many as six popular entrees each day.”

In addition to the food service, Taher also has a Farm to School initiative in place to assist schools interested in securing locally grown produce within a reasonable geographic area. A fun and educational aspect of the program invites local farmers to lunch service to present hands-on activities for students. Taher also has a Taher Chef Council that is comprised of chefs representing all divisions of their company: school lunch, campus dining, business dining, senior dining and restaurants.

“Through ongoing training and periodic visits to each account, these chefs have been assigned the tasks of developing new concepts and creations for our food court systems, as well as continually upgrading the existing concepts. We will allocate time for the Corporate Chef Team to work with the existing staff on creating new freshly prepared entrees with onsite display presentation.” – Taher, Inc., Food Service Proposal for the School District of Rhinelander.

“The School Board and District Administration continue to identify cost savings for our community, and Taher, Inc., presented an opportunity for the District to enhance our student lunch offerings and reduce our costs. Taher will recruit a qualified Food Service Director from our area, retain our existing staff, honor their wages and offer them a comparable fringe benefit packet. In addition, Taher will train our existing staff diligently to deliver their services and teach them how to prepare Taher meals from scratch. The School Board and District Administration reviewed Taher’s proposal carefully, and believes this to be the best proposal for our students. We look forward to welcoming Taher and working together this coming school year,” added Kwiatkowski.