Council Upset at School Central Purchasing

A move by the provincial government to require all public schools to purchase food supplies from a single, central source does not sit well with Cumberland County Council.

Council asked the Minister of Education to allow schools to shop locally instead of forcing them to purchase from Armstrong Food Services.

Deputy Mayor Jennifer Houghtaling told council the supplier agreement upsets a long-standing relationship within Pugwash where the elementary school and the high school prefer to shop local whenever possible.

Houghtaling suggests that other communities in Cumberland may have the same opinion as local grocery stores, like the Pugwash Coop, as such suppliers realise an important part of their annual business from school purchases.

Council approved a letter from Mayor Murray Scott to Education Minister Becky Druhan urging the return to the more open practice. Here is a copy of that letter:

Honorable Minister Druhan

Department of Education and Early Childhood Development, 

The Council of the Municipality of the County of Cumberland would like to share our deep concern regarding the decision to have schools order all food through Armstrong Food Supplier. 

There are several rural schools throughout Cumberland County that support their local grocery stores and farmers markets by shopping locally. 

There are several other benefits along with supporting small businesses including having options to choose what is on special, fresher and healthier produce, and community involvement such as fundraising. 

Rural communities need their stores and markets to continue to stay open, especially now that driving to a larger center is getting too expensive. 

In one of our communities, the local grocery store generates approximately $10,000 from each of the 2 schools per school year. They also donate many items for fundraisers and events at the schools. 

This is a very important relationship and we would like to recommend that schools have the choice to support their local economy by shopping locally. 

Thank you,

Murray Scott 

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