School Food Safety Inspections

I am the Foodservice Director of two districts in Central Minnesota. Our local health department has completed three of the 12 inspections that will be required by the end of the school year between the two districts although we are now at the half-way point of the school year. We have a fair number of seasonal type establishments--drive-up restaurants as well as resorts in this area--which will need to get inspected this spring as well. The attitude of health departments around the region has been similar, that schools are the least of their worries for several reasons. 1. Our workforce is very stable. These are seen as great jobs; we offer better benefits, conditions, hours and our people stick around. Therefore the training hours I spend on my employees stay with my kitchen. 2. Our customers are hearty, healthy people. Hospitals and nursing homes have a much riskier population. Most of the kids in school do not even qualify to get flu shots due to being a not risky group. 3. Schools generally do very well on their health inspections due to rigorous training. Most of my staff are certified by School Nutrition Association and attend classes in addition to the workshops that I provide to sharpen their skills. Perhaps it would be better to require repeat inspections of problem schools only. In conclusion, I am stongly in favor of rigorous food safety practices. What I question is the need for schools to spend extra money and resources trying to secure extra inspections when they don't seem to be needed. The time of our local inspectors would be better spent in fast food restaurants where constant turnover means even the best training programs are nearly impossible to implement. Thank you for your time.