NETCO is a School Food Service Cooperative in Northeast Tennessee. The cooperative is comprised of twelve individual school systems serving an average of 50,000 students per day with an annual food budget of over six million dollars. NETCO, formed in 1997, includes the school systems of Bristol City, Carter County, Cocke County, Greene County, Greeneville City, Hamblen County, Hawkins County, Johnson City , Johnson County , Newport City, Rogersville City, and Sullivan County.

The mission of NETCO is to provide cooperative opportunities to optimally utilize all available resources for maintaining excellence within member School Nutrition Programs. Recognizing that School Nutrition Programs are an integral part of the total education process, NETCO strives to ensure program quality for participating members. The development of NETCO enhances the vision that School Nutrition Program professionals will continue to provide healthy school meals to all students.

NETCO seeks to create partnerships with manufacturers and suppliers who are dedicated to the needs and concerns of school food service. NETCO is committed to providing the best resources for its member districts. Part of this philosophy includes purchases from the direct market as well as the further processing of USDA commodities.

NETCO at a Glance

NETCO includes 12 School Systems with:
137 Total Schools:
93 Elementary Schools
21 Middle Schools
23 High Schools

Approximately 60,900 Students
43% qualify for Free Lunch
10% qualify for Reduced Lunch
47% are Paying Students

In 2004-2005:
7,980,887 reimbursable lunches were served.
2,720,073 reimbursable breakfasts were served.

Average Daily Participation for lunch was :
76.68%
45,000+ reimbursable lunches served per day
With annual a la carte sales of $ 2,424,000.

Annual Purchases:
Distributor Purchases: $6.5 million
USDA Processing Fees: $1 million
Milk and Dairy: $1.9 million
Bread: $365,000
Produce: $550,000