Cell phones aren’t the only things with a dead zone. Many dry storage rooms are designed with storage racks against the walls, leaving a surplus of unused space in the middle of the room. Felicia Kittok, Director of Food Services at Becker Public Schools, had this very problem at their middle school; boxes were stacked on dunnage racks around the room, with additional cases stacked on serving lines and racks that were required to be stored inside too.
After increasing their participation with the start of the Minnesota free school meals program, Kittok started feeling the walls of their dry storage room closing in.
“Obviously, our space didn’t get any bigger, so we were working with the same tight quarters, but we were storing a lot more food for breakfast and lunch,” said Kittok.
When she reached out to her local Cambro sales rep, Laurance Anderson, he suggested Camshelving® Elements® XTRA Series High Density Storage System. Designed to increase storage capacity up to 50%, the system consists of stationary starter units anchored to a raised floor track system with mobile units gliding easily in between for easy access and space optimization.
“I thought it was a good space to try the track shelving because you’re covering every square inch and we can set up to have some things accessible towards the front that we’re using every day, tuck some things in the back that we maybe aren’t accessing every day,” said Kittok. “[We have] more space and shelving to work with than we’ve ever had before.”
With a lunch program that has seen a 44% increase in participation, it’s imperative to have supplies on hand when they need them. The Cambro High Density Storage System has allowed Kittok to streamline some of their processes now that they can handle a higher capacity.
“The team has really been liking the track shelving, we can store a lot more material. We have a central storage area up at our high school where we keep a lot of commodities, but now we can ship cases and cases of commodity canned fruits and vegetables down to the middle school to keep versus having to pull a couple cases at a time, so that’s another nice expansion for us,” said Kittok.
Already familiar with using Camshelving in two walk-in coolers at other schools, Kittok knew about Camshelving’s lifetime guarantee against rust and corrosion, shelf plates protected by molded-in antimicrobial Camguard® and easy installation without the need for drilling, bolts or gluing.
“[Anderson] came out after it was delivered and helped us install it and set it up, which was super helpful. It was me, three of my teammates and then him; we were able to knock it out in like an hour,” said Kittok.
Additionally, at the start of the project, Anderson used our free Camshelving Design Service to give Kittok a better idea of what her space would look like when it was finished.
“When he came out to our site, he measured it and showed us right on his computer what the track shelving would look like and what space it would take up. That was helpful to visually see before pulling the trigger and ordering it,” said Kittok.
The CDS analyzes the most suitable and cost-effective shelving design for each space. Depending on where you are looking to install your Camshelving, this service ensures space is efficiently allocated, operational flow is maximized, and organizational challenges are solved. Click here to find your local Cambro sales rep and get started today!
AUTHOR: ADRIANA COCHRAN IS THE DIGITAL COMMUNICATIONS MANAGER AT CAMBRO.
