Local authorities can significantly affect economic performance of public organizations. Although outsourcing is popular in the private sector, there are few studies about its use in the public sector. Using the data on Moscow region we examine how political characteristics of local authorities influence school decisions to outsource food provision in 2016. We demonstrate that the probability of choosing outsourcing is significantly lower in municipalities with heads elected through direct elections and heads occupying their public position for the first term. Results are robust to inclusion of different economic characteristics of schools and municipalities.