Just yesterday I wrote a post on The Spork Report (an HISD school food blog that appears on Chron.com) raising some important questions about Aramark, questions that need to be answered even apart from their financial performance: http://www.texaswatchdog.org/2011/12/hisd-says-food-services-company-aramark-reneges-on-contract/1323205294.column

Sad to see Aramark is still sticking it to their customers just like they do to their employees.

There is NO excuse for this. Heads willl roll at Aramark. Hate to be the ones who failed to do their jobs!

I am a Food Service Director, working for a school district which had tried the "Contract Management" route, prior to hiring me. Like HISD, they ended up losing more money than they could afford. In these harsh economic times, districts should seriously reconsider going back to self-op. With the right people in charge, it could save TONS of money, because you are paying salaries and NOT contractor fees! Besides which, being self-op, we have real control over the meals we serve, and don't have to serve the same pre-made cardboard meals offered by most FS Contractors.

aramark and sodexho both suck and should not be aloud to work K-12 schools with the low quality food they are so proud of. self op is the way to go..

I think this is hilarious,that what you school board suits get trying to screww the food service workers.

It is clear none of the comments are from informed or educated people. I have no affiliated to Aramark however I do understand the difficulties of making money in a poor economy when your hands are tied by goverment, panic riddled uninformed new reports about obesiety that relieves parents of their responsibility and never mentions that students do not attend PE daily, and so on and so forth. It the comments defense below...It is a very very complicated issue. One you might research before safely (behind a made up name) spouting idiocy.

There are 2 entities that do not belong in the K-12 Food Service enviroment,

1- Contract Vendors, Aramark, Chartwells, Sodexo, Compass and on and on, these companies will never be vested in the wellbeing of the Students they serve and only care about the bottom-line profit

2- Labor Unions- K-12 Food Service position are mainly for part-Time employees and were never meant to be "Career Positions" with Full Benefit Packages & Vacation Pay. That sort of salary does nothing but put a strain on keeping the cost of meals affordable.