SPRINGFIELD, Mass. — The U.S. Department of Agriculture has denied a request by the School Department to use surplus funds in the school lunch program to purchase a new food warehouse in the goal of expanding space and cost savings.
While the USDA denied the use of surplus funds, city and school officials will instead ask the City Council to approve the purchase of the property at 50 Warehouse St., for $815,000, using local funds, said Timothy J. Plante, the city's chief administrative and finance officer.
The property is off Island Pond Road, in East Forest Park.
The proposal is expected to be considered at the next regular council meeting, Nov. 17.
"This is a tremendous deal for the city," Plante said. "We are able to get out of the space we have – outgrown space – and get a return on the investment by expanding the food service program."
Candice Stoiber, regional director for the USDA's Special Nutrition Programs Division, said that after lengthy review, the proposed use of the surplus was deemed "not in the overall best interest of the school food service programs."
The USDA had concerns including that using the surplus to buy the warehouse "may present potential financial risks and liabilities for Springfield Public Schools and the FNS (Food and Nutrition Service) now and in the future."
The property is owned by the Center for Human Development.
Patrick Roach, the School Department's budget director, said the 30,000-square-foot building on Warehouse Street would more than double the space of a leased building on Cadwell Drive.
Springfield Public Schools now have universal free lunch program with federal aid that started this school year, and previously had a free breakfast program that continues. The food service program has essentially outgrown its space, now leased month to month.
Roach had pursued the use of