Ah, kids. No matter their age, background, or whether they prefer skateboards or dolls, they all share a few undeniable traits. They love to laugh and they excel at turning any space into a chaotic playground.
They also have an astonishing ability to consume substantial amounts of food while somehow managing to remain perpetually hungry - a reality that often leaves adults wondering how to reduce food costs.
This “bottomless pit” factor makes foodservice costs one of the most significant line items for Boys and Girls Clubs, recreation centers, and other community facilities. After all, when you’re catering to a crowd that can polish off a pizza faster than you can say “vegetable medley,” it becomes clear that understanding how to reduce foodservice costs becomes mission-critical.
Let’s look at the numbers:
- Boys & Girls Clubs, which are only one subset of the nation’s many clubs and community facilities, serve more than 4 million young people annually through over 5,500 Club facilities across the nation.
- On a typical day, 414,000 kids and teens enter the doors of a Boys & Girls Club.
- 56% live in households that qualify for free or reduced-price school lunches.
That’s a lot of meals! The volume can seem daunting, but fortunately, therein lies an enormous opportunity to save through the power of volume purchasing.
How to Reduce Foodservice Costs with Group Purchasing Organizations
Group purchasing organizations (GPOs) like Una save clubs and community facilities money, time, and effort. If you're looking to reduce foodservice costs in a sustainable way, joining a GPO can lead to significant saving. Una members, for example, have reported an average of 18-22% off their foodservice costs. In addition, group purchasing also reduces effort and increases speed-to-saving by bypassing lengthy procurement activities, thereby allowing immediate access to pre-negotiated contracts with top suppliers across the nation.
Food and foodservice aren’t the only areas where indirect costs can be trimmed. Other key categories include:
1. Janitorial Supplies
Maintaining a clean environment is crucial in any facility, especially those serving children. However, janitorial supply costs can add up quickly. From cleaning agents to paper products, the costs can become a significant portion of the budget.
How GPOs Help:
GPOs negotiate bulk purchasing agreements with suppliers, allowing clubs to access high-quality janitorial products and services at reduced prices. By pooling their purchasing power, facilities can secure better deals on everything from disinfectants to trash bags, ensuring they maintain cleanliness without overspending.
2. Office Supplies and Printing
Administrative tasks are vital for the smooth operation of clubs and community facilities, yet the costs associated with office supplies and printing can be surprisingly high. Items like paper, ink, and general office materials come with a hefty price tag when purchased in volume at retail prices.
How GPOs Help:
Through a GPO, clubs can tap into pre-negotiated contracts that offer significant discounts on office supplies and printing services. In fact, this is the category where we often see the most dramatic cost savings of around 45% or even higher. By leveraging the collective buying power, facilities can streamline their purchasing process, reduce costs, and free up funds for more direct programming and services for the kids.
Case Study: YPurchasing
YPurchasing, a GPO serving YMCAs, is saving members 10-15% on food costs through Una’s food cost reduction program.
YPurchasing works with suppliers and vendors to secure the best possible pricing, quality products, and services to directly impact each YMCA’s mission. Currently they serve over 240 active YMCA members, leveraging their collective spend volume, knowledge, and expertise to create a competitive advantage in the marketplace.
One pivotal service offered through the YMCAs is their food programs that operate year-round to address child hunger, distributing over 38 million pounds of food to over a million people. Recognizing this, YPurchasing was determined to carve out additional savings and value for YMCAs in this category. For many organizations, learning how to reduce foodservice costs while maintaining program quality was a top priority - and this partnership provided the solution.
Challenges
Before partnering with Una, YPurchasing procurement throughout the various YMCA locations was inconsistent. Each location was responsible for sourcing and purchasing their own fitness equipment, selecting which maintenance providers to use, and deciding where to buy things like mats, linens, and uniforms.
Not only were the YMCAs left to source everything themselves, but they were also subject to higher prices due to lack of buying power and the resources it takes to better negotiate contracts and pricing.
YPurchasing was formed and had great success leveraging the purchasing power of YMCAs around the country to establish a healthy portfolio of contracts. The location now had access to a vendor network and contracts to help them save more money, time, and effort. When it came to food costs, however, YPurchasing knew they needed an extra boost to help bring the most value and savings to their members.
The cost of food has fluctuated dramatically over the years, and keeping quality products in stock at reasonable prices was crucial. Ongoing supply chain disruptions were also concerning. Forming a partnership with Una helped YPurchasing combat these challenges.
Food Market Basket
To help YPurchasing members visualize the savings that were possible with Una, our team ran market baskets to compare food costs. To get started, market baskets can be completed as part of the discovery process prior to joining Una. We have the ability to cross-reference multiple national distributors and pre-negotiated contracts to find the best solutions for your organization.
Beyond cost analyses, Una members have access to quarterly pinpoint reports to identify other savings opportunities, price protections, and resources to help circumvent supply chain disruptions and product shortages.
Why Partner with Una?
Like YPurchasing, Una works to negotiate discounted pricing directly with leading suppliers that operate within the food distribution industry. Thanks to diverse and comprehensive contracts already in place, YPurchasing members were able to immediately start saving on food costs regardless of their volume size or location. What’s more, YPurchasing members could access Una’s contracts free-of-charge with zero long-term commitments and with no product limitations.
The trusted partnership between Una and YPurchasing meant that YMCAs around the country would see an additional 10-15% savings on food costs, allowing YPurchasing to focus on growing and providing value to their members.
"Una has made it as easy as possible to find savings for our members and start realizing those savings right away. Their customer service is great! They are professional, quick to respond, and communicate well."
— Jody Shaikun, Vice President - Operations, YPurchasing.
Ready to Get Started?
Join now or book a no-obligation discovery call to learn how to reduce foodservice costs and see how group purchasing can work for clubs and community facilities. Membership is always free, with no purchasing requirements or exclusivities.
Ultimately, by harnessing the power of group purchasing, clubs can not only manage foodservice costs more effectively but also ensure they continue to serve nutritious meals to their hungry patrons.
Let’s turn those bottomless pits into bottom-line savings.
