Category: Food for Thought

Every year, U.S. schools produce as much as 530,000 tons of food waste. That includes everything from uneaten food to packaging, disposable plates and utensils, and more. The financial cost of that waste is more than $1.7 billion annually. Addressing it could have a major impact on the environment and on the millions of families who struggle with food insecurity.

Fortunately, it doesn’t have to be this way. Throughout California, School Food Professionals and their districts are leading the charge towards a “zero-waste” future. This Earth Day, we’re saluting the passionate, innovative and committed professionals who are working to eliminate school food waste, and we’re uplifting simple steps that any school or district can take to make their programs more sustainable.

Review: To eliminate food waste, the first step is to understand where it comes from and what causes it. Conducting an audit of food waste can give a better sense of how much food a program throws out and what kinds are most often wasted. When Upland High School in San Bernardino County audited their food waste, they discovered they were generating more than 350 pounds during a single lunch period. Two-thirds of that total was food waste, including more than 200 whole fruits and 40 unopened milk cartons. This understanding gave them the ability to pinpoint where they could make changes to minimize waste in the future.

Reduce: The most effective way to cut down on wasted food and packaging is not to have it go to waste in the first place. More than 60 percent of municipal waste is packaging, and the environmental impact it creates is enormous. Scratch cooking, rather than serving prepackaged items, goes a long way towards minimizing packaging and food waste. For example, offering fresh-cut fruits and vegetables not only eliminates packaging waste, but is shown to increase the amount of fruit eaten and decrease food waste on a school level, resulting in healthier kids and a healthier planet. Transitioning to bulk milk dispensers, rather than using individual cartons, has also been found to reduce packaging waste while improving overall milk consumption, all while lowering cost to schools.   

Recover: When food goes uneaten, it doesn’t have to go to waste. Many schools throughout California have launched programs to get food that might otherwise go unused to students or community members who need it. Thomas Jefferson High and many other Los Angeles Unified School District schools have designated tables where students and teachers can return unopened and unconsumed items. Students who want additional food are free to take it, and at the end of the day, everything remaining can be donated. Hundreds of school districts throughout California, such as Irvine Unified and Alhambra Unified, also partner with food banks and local nonprofits to recover and redistribute surplus food. 

Recycle: Recycling and composting programs enable schools and districts in every corner of the state to give new life to unused food and packaging and reduce their carbon footprints. For example, schools from across Marin County partner with Zero Waste Marin to compost and recycle food and packaging waste. In southern California, Burbank’s Bret Harte Elementary has introduced a high-tech system that can turn 100 lbs of food waste into 20 lbs of high-nutrient compost that can be used in fertilizer, animal feeds and many other ways.

Everyone wins when we minimize food waste. Schools and districts save money, fewer people and communities experience food insecurity, and the impact on the environment is reduced. We’re inspired by the way that School Food Professionals and districts are working together to create a more sustainable future for all.

Great things are cooking in California’s school kitchens. In every corner of the state, from San Diego to San Francisco and from the Klamath River to the Hollywood Hills, School Food Professionals are tapping into their skills and creativity to make our kids’ meals fresher, healthier and tastier.

On Wednesday, the Powered by School Food Professionals Awards gathered school food teams from across California at Jar Restaurant in Los Angeles to celebrate this vital work. Dozens of districts throughout the state submitted their best dishes for consideration, uplifting creative new recipes and exciting takes on student favorites. Using farm-fresh ingredients and scratch cooking techniques and tapping into the rich cultures of their students, communities and staff, they’re creating mouthwatering meals that are as good as they are good for you. 

Supported by the Chef Ann Foundation, the Awards celebrated the incredible impact of School Food Professionals and the way they’re transforming school food in California. Los Angeles culinary legend Chef Suzanne Tracht recreated all the winning recipes for a tasting menu experience, demonstrating just how good school food can look and taste. 

Without further ado, meet the winners of the Powered by School Food Professionals Awards.

Best Original Recipe: San Luis Coastal Unified School District’s Thai Basil Lentil Burger (San Luis Obispo, CA)

Originally created for a virtual student cooking class during the pandemic, San Luis Coastal’s Thai Basil Lentil Burger is a healthy, delicious taste of the community they serve. The dish captures the creativity and deep culinary expertise of their school food team, which is led by a Le Cordon Bleu Pastry Chef and a professional restaurant chef. The whole-grain bun and organic red lentils are sourced locally as part of their farm-to-school program, ensuring each bite of the dish supports student health and the community. 

Best Scratch-Cooked Adaptation: Azusa Unified School District’s Chicken Wings (Azusa, CA)

When it’s wing day at Azusa Unified School District, you’d better act fast, because they go flying out the door. Azusa Unified supercharged their chicken-wing game by serving scratch-made, locally sourced organic wings coated with different sauces to match their students’ diverse tastes. Rather than deep frying, Azusa’s school food team oven-bakes the wings to achieve a satisfying crunch without compromising on health. This succulent and spicy recipe was created by trained chefs on the district’s school food team, and they are proud to be the first district in the San Gabriel Valley to serve organic chicken and beef raised using regenerative farming methods. 

Best Take on a Culinary Trend: Upland Unified School District’s Vegan Lemon Blueberry Breakfast Bar (Upland, CA) 

If you don’t think breakfast is the most important meal of the day, you haven’t tried Upland Unified School District’s Vegan Lemon Blueberry Breakfast Bars. Originally developed as the district was looking to incorporate their own student-cultivated, garden-grown lemons into the menu, the scratch-cooked bars give kids the flavors they love and the nutrients they need to succeed throughout the day. They were created in partnership with a plant-based recipe developer who has helped expose Upland Unified students to vegan creations like breakfast breads, tofu- and chickpea-based smoothie bowls and more.

Best Farm to School Recipe: Nevada City School of the Arts’ Whole Wheat Penne Pasta (Nevada City, CA)

Great things are sprouting up in Nevada City. The school food team at Nevada City School of the Arts developed this tasty and nourishing whole wheat pasta recipe to use surplus harvest items from their farm partners. It’s exploding with fresh veggies and other healthy products direct from local producers, including arugula, eggplant, fennel, tomatoes, basil and olive oil. Created by Nevada City School of the Arts’ Food Service Director and their Student Engagement Coordinator (both trained chefs with extensive experience), the dish is a portrait of what delicious, local, farm-fresh and community-minded school food can be. 

Best Culturally Relevant Recipe: San Diego Unified School District’s Birria (San Diego, CA)

The School Food Professionals at San Diego Unified School District bring all their passion and culture to the table. During lunchtime taste tests, they heard loud and clear that their students wanted to see Birria on the menu. The smoky, spicy, long-simmered Mexican stew is a taste of home not just for the students – more than half of whom are Latino – but for many of the staff as well. Using a recipe lovingly crafted by the district’s experienced culinary specialist, they have their students – and teachers – asking for seconds whenever they serve this delicious comfort food.

Community Choice Recipe: Marysville Joint Unified School District’s Kickin’ Kiwi Chicken Chili Verde (Marysville, CA)

Thousands of Marysville students can’t be wrong. Since introducing their Kickin’ Kiwi Chicken Chili to the menu, Marysville Joint Unified School District’s school food team has prepared and served almost 5,000 portions of this creative new dish. Their Community-Choice-winning recipe, which was voted on by students, parents, staff and school food advocates throughout California, taps into southwestern flavors and cooking methods that their students and School Food Professionals both love, and it’s packed with fresh, scratch-cooked ingredients. The kiwis are even sourced from a local farm that has a long-standing partnership with the district.

The afternoon was filled with food, fun and fellowship, as representatives of some of California’s best school food teams shared countless stories about the steps they’re taking to transform the meals they make throughout the state – using farm-fresh ingredients and scratch cooking techniques to chart a new future for school food. Most of all, they shared a commitment to California’s kids and to building healthier, happier and more successful futures, one tray at a time.  

I call the school food team at Fallbrook Union High School District my amazing dream team. Every one of them cares so deeply, and they’re fearless. There’s not an idea that you can throw at them that they’re not willing to try. 

Our School Food Professionals learned a lot of their skills right here. Our team member Veronica Bernal is a great example. She’s an excellent cook at home, but at home, you don’t often have to make 400 of the same dish while meeting a whole list of nutritional regulations. She learned that on the job. 

There was a point where our program felt like it was hitting a wall. We were using a lot of home recipes and what I call “Chef Pinterest,” going online and asking “What can we make?” We could read recipes and buy ingredients, and we were managing to do pretty well, but we knew there was so much more we could do if we had the skills. So last summer, we decided that the team needed more training. 

Sometimes people confuse talent and technique. Talent is when you just naturally have the skills they need. It’s a very unusual, one-in-a-million thing. Technique, on the other hand, is taught. If you want to get really good, you need someone to look at what you’re doing and say “I see a spot where we can teach you.” 

We’re committed to staff development. For example, we built our team’s techniques by bringing in a couple of chefs for hands-on training. They taught our staff about everything from braising, overnight roasting and grinding meats to making house-made sauces, prepping more efficiently and much more. We had a master baker come in and lead our staff through immersive baking training on topics like grinding grains, understanding baking percentages, using different types of yeast, proofing and others. Chefs from the Chef Ann Foundation worked with us on a number of techniques for blending, brining and making dressings

That training transformed our program, increasing not just the skills our staff bring to the table but their confidence as well. Our team members saw that they really can do this work. And by putting that time and effort into training them, we also showed them how valued they are in their jobs.  

One program that has made a huge difference is the Chef Ann Foundation’s Healthy School Food Pathway program, which helps School Food Professionals learn the skills they need to succeed in scratch cooking, whether they’re aspiring, beginners, or experienced in the field. Before it came into being, there wasn’t any solid, structured pathway to help people move up in this industry. But the program opens people’s eyes in terms of what they can do, and it gives them the knowledge and the assistance they need to get there, covering subjects like scratch cooking, menu development, recipe creation, nutrition, regulations and compliance, procurement, inventory management and more.

More than half of our team have completed the pre-apprenticeship program, with another five team members starting it in March. About a third of us have continued on to participate in the nine-month apprenticeship program. 

Learning is a process. My team takes the attitude that everyone is going to fail at some point along the way. That’s just how people grow. But if we learn from it, pick up and keep moving forward, we’ll keep getting better and better. A lot of businesses teach people what they need to know to accomplish their job, but they don’t always give them the background. Understanding that “why” makes a huge difference. Look at the regulations we follow – of course, it’s important for staff to know what they are, but they also need to know why they exist in the first place. 

You never stop learning. I’ve been doing this work for a long time, but every time I go to one of these trainings, I still find myself saying, “I never knew that before.” No matter who you are or how much experience you have, whether you’re a pre-apprentice or a master chef, there’s always a new skill or information that you can learn. 

In my last district, I was incredibly fortunate to have a director who mentored me, sent me to trainings and really helped me understand this work. I wouldn’t be where I am without her. When she left, she asked me to make sure to do that for other people. 

If you’re considering working in school food, let me tell you – it’s the best career ever. If you love working with kids, want the ability to make a lasting impact on their lives and are ready to learn, it’s the perfect job for you.

Any parent can tell you that it can be a struggle getting kids to try new foods. But helping them overcome this issue has many benefits. Studies show that kids who are exposed to diverse foods and flavors early are more likely to try new foods throughout their lives. And incorporating a diverse diet has many long-term health benefits, such as improved nutrition, longer lifespans, reduced risk of metabolic syndrome and healthier gut bacteria.

So what’s a parent to do? How do you get your child to trade in their familiar go-to dishes and try new foods? We asked the experts — two School Food Professionals who work every day to help students expand their palates and develop lifelong healthy eating habits. Here are their tips on how to turn picky eaters into brave food explorers.

• Meet them where they are: The healthiest meal in the world won’t benefit your child if it stays on their plate. So when trying to get your child to try new flavors, don’t push them too far out of their comfort zone. “You have to keep in mind that these are younger kids who might be nervous about trying something different,” said Tanya Montes, Central Kitchen Lead at Cypress School District. “For example, we dial back the heat and spice when we make salsa. That way the kids can taste the flavor profile, but it’s not going to scare them off.”

• Get creative: What do you do if your kids are scared they won’t like a new type of food? Try filling it with flavors you already know they love. Incorporating your child’s favorite flavors can give them the boost they need to try something different and possibly discover a new favorite. “When just 10 kids out of 550 tried our hummus recipe, we figured we needed a new direction,” said Parisa Shukla, Director of Child Nutrition at Cypress School District. “So we thought, ‘Why not make a dessert hummus?’” Her team kept the same healthy hummus and added a bit of chocolate and vanilla flavors that they know their students love. “The kids ended up really, really liking it,” Shukla said.

• Bring the influencers on board: When kids see their friends trying something different, they’re more likely to want to try it themselves. “School gives you a free space where you see other kids eat a new dish and you’re like, ‘Maybe I’ll give that a shot,’” Montes said. The benefits aren’t just one way, either. Incorporating diverse food choices also makes a huge difference for the kids who are seeing their cultures represented. “I’m half-Afghan, and I never saw the kinds of foods my family ate at school,” said Shukla. “When kids see dishes from their culture on the menu, it helps to normalize them, they don’t feel shy or embarrassed when they’re bringing these things from home.”

• Don’t give up: If your child just won’t eat new food, don’t get discouraged. Depending on the child, it can take more than a dozen exposures to a new dish before they are willing to try it. Once they do, they may still find it’s not to their taste, or they may discover a new favorite. “The first time we served tikka masala, a lot of our students were really unsure about it. But now a lot of them walk in and say, ‘Great! It’s tikka masala day,’” Shukla said. “And if they decided that it’s not a food they like, that’s OK, too. They can have yogurt and scratch-made granola instead.”

Everyone’s tastes are different, and not every child is going to like every food. But by being willing to try new dishes, kids open themselves up, not just to a healthier future, but to a lifetime of delicious discoveries, connections with friends and culinary cultural experiences.

Delicious and healthy school meals don’t make themselves. They are planned, cooked and served by a team of School Food Professionals with diverse skills, roles and backgrounds, as well as a shared commitment to helping students succeed in the classroom and beyond.  

School Food Professionals bring skill, care and creativity to the nearly 3 million lunches served across California each day. While the “lunch lady” is a familiar image, School Food Professionals work at every level to make sure our kids get the good and good-for-you meals they need to do and be their best. Members of the school food team are involved at every stage of the process, from menu planning and sourcing ingredients to creating new recipes, cooking meals, serving kids, educating students on food choices and much, much more. 

Jobs and titles vary from school to school and district to district, but here are some of the key roles on a school food team:

Food Service Director: The people who oversee school food programs at the district or school-site levels go by many names — Nutrition Supervisor, Executive Director and others. Along with leading the charge to transform school food in California, they build, train and supervise school food teams; ensuring they’re complying with all state and federal requirements, keeping the department on budget; purchasing equipment and ensuring it is maintained; tracking and reporting meal counts and more. 

Registered Dietitian / Nutritionist: If you want expert advice on school nutrition, menu planning and healthy eating, talk to your local school district’s Registered Dietitian Nutritionist (RDN). RDNs work in a number of roles with schools, helping guide them in meeting nutrition requirements and making healthy food choices. RDNs come to the work with extensive training — including earning a master’s degree in a related field, completing at least 1,000 hours of supervised practice and passing a national exam through the Academy of Nutrition and Dietetics.  

Head Chef: School food chefs work at the intersection of art and science. They use their creativity and vast experience — many have worked years in restaurants and other professional kitchens — to devise new recipes that are exciting, healthy and bursting with flavor. Then they take those recipes and work out how to make them at scale for all the students in their school or district. Along the way, they work to source the best ingredients, often working with local producers as part of a farm to school program to make sure the kids they serve get meals made with the freshest possible produce and protein. Finally, they train the members of their staff so that they can make these creative new dishes consistently from meal to meal or school site to school site.

School Food Service Employees: Just like a busy restaurant, a school cafeteria requires many different skills and people to make it run. You might think of these staff as the lunch ladies, but they include all the people who make it possible to cook and serve meals to students, from the cooks who make sure that recipes are executed perfectly to the cafeteria staff who prepare ingredients, maintain equipment, provide kitchen support, serve food to students, wash and sanitize dishes and kitchen tools and more. These staff are also the face of school food, interacting directly with students, offering guidance on meal choices and creating a friendly environment where kids can relax and recharge before going back to class. 

There are many more people involved with creating delicious and nutritious school food, such as warehouse and facility workers, delivery drivers, administrative staff, bookkeepers and others. But whatever their title, whether they work in the kitchen or cafeteria or somewhere else, they are School Food Professionals, and they play critical roles in helping our children build healthy, thriving and successful futures.

The future of school food in California looks—and tastes—great. From scratch-cooked adaptations of student favorites to culturally authentic dishes that spotlight the incredible diversity of our students, School Food Professionals are cooking for change in every corner of our state.     

To uplift the creativity and commitment of school food programs throughout California, we’re proud to announce the finalists for the Powered By School Food Professionals Awards. Supported by the Chef Ann Foundation, these awards uplift and celebrate excellence in school meal programs in every part of California. They include six categories: Best Original Recipe, Best Scratch-Cooked Adaptation, Best Farm to School Recipe, Best Take on a Culinary Trend, Best Culturally Relevant Recipe, and a community-driven recognition: the Community Choice Recipe.

Winners for the awards will be chosen by a panel of respected school food experts. Each winning program will receive an all-expenses-paid trip to Los Angeles for two of their team members to attend an exclusive celebration hosted by a well-known chef. Winners will also receive national recognition and personalized awards commemorating their impact.

Read on to meet the finalists:

• Best Original Recipe
  • Cupertino Union School District (Cupertino, CA): Honey Gochujang Tofu with Purple Rice
  • Marysville Joint Unified School District (Marysville, CA): Kickin’ Kiwi Salsa
  • Monterey Peninsula Unified School District (Monterey, CA): Crispy Kimchi Chicken Sandwich 
  • San Luis Coastal Unified School District (San Luis Obispo, CA): Thai Basil Lentil Burger

• Best Scratch-Cooked Adaptation 
  • Azusa Unified School District (Azusa, CA): Chicken Wings
  • Los Gatos Union School District (Los Gatos, CA): Chili Cheez Fries
  • San Diego Unified School District (San Diego, CA): California Burrito
  • Torrance Unified School District (Torrance, CA): Charcuterie Flatbread

• Best Farm to School Recipe 
  • Gonzales Unified School District (Gonzales, CA): Cauliflower Cilantro Rice
  • Live Oak School District (Santa Cruz, CA): Kale Pesto Pasta
  • Nevada City School of the Arts (Nevada City, CA): Whole Wheat Penne Pasta
  • Western Placer Unified School District (Lincoln, CA): Summer Pasta Salad 

• Best Take on a Culinary Trend
  • Live Oak School District (Santa Cruz, CA): Peach BBQ Sauce Chicken
  • Marysville Joint Unified School District (Marysville, CA): Carrot Burnt Ends 
  • San Luis Coastal Unified School District (San Luis Obispo County, CA): Veggie Pizza 
  • Upland Unified School District (Upland, CA): Vegan Lemon Blueberry Breakfast Bar 

• Best Culturally Relevant Recipe
  • Cupertino Union School District (Cupertino, CA): Butter Chickpeas and Naan
  • Live Oak School District (Santa Cruz, CA): Barbacoa
  • San Diego Unified School District (San Diego, CA): Birria
  • San Francisco Unified School District (San Francisco, CA): Thai Style Rice Noodles 

• Community Choice Recipe
  • Live Oak School District (Santa Cruz, CA): Barbacoa 
  • Cupertino Union School District (Cupertino, CA): Japanese Katsu Curry 
  • Monterey Peninsula Unified School District (Monterey, CA): Crispy Kimchi Chicken Sandwich 
  • San Luis Coastal Unified School District (San Luis Obispo, CA): Thai Basil Lentil Burger 
  • San Francisco Unified School District (San Francisco, CA): Taco Pasta Bolognese 
  • Marysville Joint Unified School District (Marysville, CA): Kickin’ Kiwi Chicken Chili Verde 

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Finalists for the Community Choice Recipe award, which celebrates delicious, creative and healthy recipes cooked up by school food programs, were previously announced in December and voted on by students, parents, staff and school food advocates across the state, with tallies underway! 

Winners will be announced in March, right here on the Powered By School Food Professionals website. For more information about the awards, and to find out about the winning programs, visit www.schoolfoodpros.org/awards.

Change isn’t easy. But with the right people and the right attitudes, it can happen. When I started in school food, you could still sell sodas, and there was no oversight in terms of what was stocked in the vending machines. Deep fryers were only just getting phased out when I was coming in. 

But then you had trailblazers like Chef Ann Cooper and Michelle Obama who really pushed the status quo and promoted healthy, scratch-cooked school meals. Seeing them advocate for change and actually get it done was inspiring and eye-opening, and it made me want to do the same.

When the director position at Tahoe Truckee Unified School District opened, they told me they wanted someone to come in and introduce a more nutrient-dense, fresh and scratch-cooked model for the school food program. I can’t tell you how amazing that was to hear. For someone who really cares about school food, that’s like winning the lottery. So I submitted my application immediately. I must have been a good fit, because I’ve been here for 13 years!

Today, the food we serve is as fresh, scratch-cooked and locally sourced as possible. The tomatoes in our salad bar are picked fresh within 150 miles of our school, and they go right to our sites. If you’re used to mealy, frozen-and-thawed tomatoes, this is a whole different experience. They’re like candy. 

The reason we were able to make those changes happen is because we had the right people working together. We had parents, the school board, the superintendent and an amazing school food team, and all of them were on the same page. Everyone was concerned about the heavily processed food that was being served, and they were determined to do something about it. 

Every School Food Professional on our team is committed to what they prepare, how they serve it, and getting feedback from students. You can see the results in every meal and on every smiling kid’s face. The recipe ideas they come up with are fantastic, and it’s not just our students and teachers who think so. Many districts across the state now use our breakfast muffin bar recipe. It’s hard work, being on your feet all day, prepping and cooking food, getting deliveries out, keeping on the timeline and meeting everyone’s needs. We need to give our School Food Professionals the recognition they deserve.

When other directors ask how they can push their own programs to be healthier, fresher and more focused on scratch cooking, I tell them that it has to start with relationships. If there are parents who support you, grab them, hang on to them, invite them to everything, get their feedback. Students, teachers and community partners can absolutely help programs succeed. 

At no other time in my career has there been so much support for farm to school, local sourcing, organic food and scratch cooking. You have the Chef Ann Foundation, Eat Real, the Center for Ecoliteracy, the National Farm to School Network, the California Department of Food and Agriculture and the California Department of Education, Nutrition Services Division, just to name a few. So don’t try to go at it alone. Bring people into your circle and tell them, “Here’s the help I need.”

We’ve made so much progress over the last decade — the upgraded veggie pattern, sodium restrictions, whole grain and new sugar rules that’ll be coming up in the next year, for example — and we’re just getting started. I’m really proud to be part of school food service and what it stands for now.

Photo Credit: SteveKepple.com

California schools are one of the largest food providers in the U.S., serving 3 million lunches and 1.5 million breakfasts every school day. It’s a gargantuan undertaking, and one that has the potential to have a huge impact on the environment. From the types of food prepared to where ingredients are sourced and how food waste is handled, School Food Professionals have the opportunity to reduce the carbon footprint of their food programs. 

Fortunately, California leads the way in charting a more sustainable path for school food. Below, you’ll find a sampling of some of the innovative approaches that School Food Professionals across the state are taking to create a healthier future for their students and the planet.

Taking a Plant-Forward Approach 

Of all food production, meat and dairy are by far the largest producers of greenhouse gas emissions. Increasing the number of plant-based and plant-forward meals served in schools can go a long way toward cutting down the impact school meals have on our climate while making our students healthier in the process. More than half of the middle and high schools in California’s 25 largest districts offer at least one plant-based entree every day. Hundreds of California school districts offer salad bars to their students, which not only increase lunch participation and fruit and vegetable consumption, but also cut down on food waste by letting kids pick the foods they want to eat. 

Buying Fresh and Local

The easiest way to cut down on the carbon footprint of food is to reduce the number of miles it has to travel from farm to tray. Food transportation is responsible for more than a third of the greenhouse gas emissions involved in fruit and vegetable production. Sourcing ingredients from local producers through farm to school programs eliminates this pollution while ensuring kids get to eat the freshest and healthiest possible meals. 

Cutting Down on Waste

Food waste is the most common single item in U.S. landfills, and it is a major contributor to climate change. California school districts are tackling this challenge head on, introducing a wide range of novel strategies and approaches that are successfully reducing the food waste they produce. Tactics like serving sliced (rather than whole) fruits and vegetables, scheduling recess before lunch, and increasing the length of mealtimes have all been proven to cut down on the amount of food that is wasted. Creating share tables where students can return unconsumed food and beverage items and introducing composting programs ensures that items that would otherwise have been thrown away can be put to good use. 

Partnering With Students

Students aren’t just the main consumers of school food. They’re also important allies in creating sustainable school food programs. Many school food programs solicit students’ input on menu choices, enabling schools to develop recipes using the flavors they love, so food ends up in kids’ stomachs, rather than the trash. By educating students on their impact on the environment, schools are also enlisting them in the fight against food waste. The World Wildlife Fund’s Food Waste Warriors toolkit has a wealth of grade-level-appropriate lessons and activities on the impact of food, paper and plastic waste and what students can do to fight it.  

Climate change impacts everyone. By instituting sustainable programs, California’s school districts and School Food Professionals are creating a greener future and making sure all our kids have a healthy world to grow up in.

Are you a School Food Professional who is working to create healthy, delicious and scratch-cooked meals for California students? We want to celebrate your program!

Through the Powered by School Food Professionals Awards, we’re uplifting the skill, innovation and creativity of school food teams who are improving school food throughout California. By creating good and good-for-you recipes that use fresher ingredients and flavors kids love, School Food Professionals are working to make change happen in schools across the state — one tray at a time.

The Powered by School Food Professionals Awards will name six winners whose submissions go above and beyond in transforming school food in the following categories:

• Best Original Recipe: Creatively using ingredients, flavors and cooking techniques to surprise and delight students.
• Best Scratch-Cooked Adaptation: Transforming a classic school recipe typically made with prepackaged or processed ingredients into a delicious, scratch-cooked dish.
• Best Farm To School Recipe: Using fresh, seasonally available ingredients from local farms and producers. 
• Best Take on a Culinary Trend Recipe: Creatively blending contemporary flavors, culinary techniques or trending ingredients in a surprising and modern school food recipe.
• Best Culturally Relevant Recipe: Creating dishes that authentically represent or are meaningful to the cultural or ethnic heritage of a portion of the student population.
• Community Choice Recipe: Voted on by students, parents and staff, this award spotlights the school food program that has demonstrated the greatest commitment to cooking up better school food. 

Powered by School Food Professionals Awards winners will receive an all-expenses-paid trip for two representatives from each winning program to Los Angeles, where they will be honored at a celebratory event that spotlights their recipes in front of an audience of high-profile media and culinary and lifestyle influencers. Winning programs will also be recognized with a personalized award that memorializes their meaningful contributions.

Submissions are easy, so we invite professionals working in California K-12 public school food programs to enter today! To enter, complete the entry form here by December 1, 2024. 

No purchase or payment is necessary to enter or win, and there is no limit to the number of entries. All entrants must be residents of the state of California and must be 18 years of age or older at the time of entry. 

Winners will be chosen by a panel that includes school food experts. School community members, including parents, students and staff, will be eligible to vote for the Community Choice Recipe category. Finalists will be notified in December 2024. 

For more information on the Powered by School Food Professionals Awards, who is eligible and how to enter, visit the submissions page here.

The School Food Professionals at Fresno Unified School District cook fresh, tasty and healthy food — from scratch — for tens of thousands of students every school day at the district’s production center. On a typical day, they make more than 45,000 meals for the students in California’s third-largest public school district. ”It takes a lot of work to make it happen,” says Monica Garcia Hutchison, the Production Center District Supervisor for Fresno Unified Nutrition Services. “And the students and parents in our district agree that it’s worth it.”

Amazing Meals Begin with Amazing Ingredients

The first step to cooking a delicious school meal is to use delicious ingredients. Fresno Unified’s students love fresh fruit and vegetables, and they’re lucky to be located in California’s Central Valley, home to some of the world’s best produce. More than a quarter of the nation’s food is grown in the region, so Fresno schools have access to a diverse array of fresh-from-the-ground produce right in their own backyard. 

By buying from local farmers and produce vendors, Fresno Unified School District is able to get the highest-quality, best-tasting ingredients for students while supporting local families and communities. 

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To create their menus, Fresno Unified taps into the expertise of an incredible team that includes nutritionists, site managers and operators, chefs, and, most importantly, the students themselves. The district taste-tests new recipes frequently, both with students who come to visit the production center on field trips and by going out to school sites around the district. Once they’ve got a recipe that kids love, they then work out how to make it at scale. 

Making that happen are the more than 100 employees in Fresno Unified’s production center, who use fresh ingredients to make about 36,000 lunches and 10,000 breakfasts every day. Their bakery team makes fresh whole grain rich rolls, cookies and other items, which they pack and ship to schools daily, so they’re served at the optimal quality. In their Cook/Chill department, they cook the components that go into main entrees, such as chili beans or marinara sauce, before packaging them fresh and sending them off to students.

Keeping the Process Moving

Making this much food from scratch, while ensuring that it’s fresh, healthy and delicious, takes serious organization. That means making sure they have enough staff and all the ingredients needed for each meal. It means making sure everything they serve is fresh and meets the high standards they set for student food. It means making sure that the special diet team has their equipment all set to cook and prepare meals for students with allergies or dietary restrictions, and that all their machines and tools are working in tip-top shape. And it means focusing on quality control throughout the process to make sure that the team is making the best and most nutritious meals they can. 

The “Why” Behind the Work

What brings this whole complex system together and keeps it moving smoothly is a shared sense of values. Everyone who works there has the same goal in mind: making sure Fresno students get the healthy and tasty food that they need, because they know the important role that nutritious meals play in helping Fresno students to grow, succeed and thrive.

“Every single person here — from the nutritionists and chefs who plan the meals to the bakers and cooks who make them and the machinists who keep our equipment humming — puts their heart into what they do,” Monica says. “Because at the end of the day, we all want the students to get a great meal.”