Popcorn isn't peanuts for school programs

What Friday night football game would be complete without a hot dog and popcorn?

More and more, however, those items are being used to fill empty budgets as well as empty stomachs. Parents and students in area schools are increasingly relying on concession sales to augment various student activity and athletics budgets.

High school concession stands, whether indoors or outdoors, are subject to state health inspections. Hot dogs, popcorn, candy, soda and hot cocoa are fairly standard on most menus. Some schools contract with local franchises and restaurants to sell items such as pizza or chicken wings.

Volunteering to work the concession stand can lead to a nice payday for some groups.

At Stillwater, the soccer team manages concessions for the football games. The teams share the profits, after 10 percent is taken off the top and given back to the school, said Ricky Michel, activities director.

"Ideally on a good day, we'll probably serve about 1,200 pops, 800 candy items, 400 hot dogs and maybe 100 boxes of popcorn," Michel said. Profits at those events are usually around $2,000.

At Mahtomedi High School, concessions are run by the parent boosters, and at larger events, such as highly anticipated football games, volunteers can bring in as much as $800 for their organization, said Sandy Cedergren, Mahtomedi Zephyr M Club president.

Last season, the soccer team used its earnings to purchase uniforms and travel to a tournament.

When East Ridge High School opened in Woodbury last year, the school had a blank slate to create a concession-sales program, said Trent Hanson, activities director.

He calls it a "universal model" where groups can apply to work concessions for a small per-volunteer stipend. The majority of the profits are pooled and doled out on a grant basis.

"We want to provide universal access in a managed format that would allow us to support as many different [student groups] as possible," Hanson said.

So far, every group that applied to work a concessions event has been placed, he said. The Parent-Staff Organization awarded $4,200 in grants last spring.

Scholz said the East Ridge parents learned quickly during their first season running the concessions. Hot chocolate doesn't sell on a warm, sunny September evening, but come the cold, rainy nights in November, "we could have sold a thousand more cups," she said.