ABSS considers staffing contract to ease cafeteria worker shortage

School meals in Alamance-Burlington schools are again strained by a child nutrition shortage that has left 25 full- and part-time posts open out of about 200. To keep breakfasts and lunches moving when students return, Alamance-Burlington School System officials are considering a temporary staffing contract with Noor Staffing Group, a New York City agency, for the 2026-27 fiscal year.

The proposal discussed June 18 would let ABSS spend up to $150,000 from the School Food Service fund for temporary cafeteria workers at $20.24 an hour. The contract would run from July 1, 2026, through June 30, 2027, and would cover not only vacant positions but also long-term absences such as medical leave, giving the district a way to bridge gaps while applicants are interviewed and processed. The item had been expected to go to the board at its next meeting, but it was pulled from that agenda and is now expected to return in August.

The need is not new. ABSS said its child nutrition department averages about 10 resignations each summer, and the district ended the 2024-25 school year with 28 vacancies in the same department. That leaves school leaders trying to fill holes in a system where even a small staff is responsible for a large workload: 20 school nutrition workers recently served almost 32,000 breakfasts, more than 51,000 lunches and nearly 18,000 snacks to children ages 4 to 18 across Alamance County.

That pressure matters because school food is not a side service in ABSS. The district’s School Nutrition page says the Board of Education recognizes that proper nutrition is important for students to take advantage of educational opportunities. ABSS also leaned on the program heavily outside the regular school year, saying its summer feeding program served more than 100,000 meals in Alamance County in 2024. In May 2026, the district said it was preparing summer meal service again for students.

The staffing proposal comes amid a broader wave of routine district contracts. The board was also scheduled to consider five other agreements totaling about $1.5 million, including a milk contract tied to daily fresh delivery for roughly 33 schools. The question for ABSS is whether a temporary agency can keep cafeteria service reliable now, or whether the district will need a longer-term answer that helps recruit and retain local workers before the next school year puts the same pressure back on breakfast and lunch lines.