Illinois School Meals Cooperative Program was formed in 1990 by John Scholfield while he was a superintendent at Leland School in Illinois. When John retired from Leland, the operation of the cooperative and administrative agent was transferred to the LaSalle County Regional Office of Education. John continued to work with the co-op at the regional office for 13 years.
We have grown to 108 school districts with over 70,000 students in 30 counties. We continue to grow as we welcome new districts each year.
Distributor bids were accepted for the 2026/2027 school year with the contract awarded to Kohl Wholesale.
The contract is renewable for up to four additional school years.
Our purchasing cooperative consists of members that have joined forces to increase the performance and competitiveness of our organization. By joining together, members gain economic power and purchasing strength.
