We know that when students eat healthy, they do better in school.
A high quality meal helps kids focus, boosts their mood, and research shows it improves test scores, too.
That’s why California was the first state to guarantee free meals for all K-12 public school children, and why parents want to make sure those meals are fresh, healthy, and appetizing.
But how do we get the good and good-for-you school meals our kids need to thrive in the classroom and beyond?
The (not so) secret ingredient for better school food? The professionals who plan and cook meals for our kids, every day.
Across California, School Food Professionals are sourcing fresher ingredients, incorporating more scratch cooking, and developing recipes for healthier meals that use flavors kids love.
Because better school food isn’t going to make itself.
It takes a unique set of skills to plan and cook healthy meals for hundreds or thousands of kids every day – especially meals that kids actually want to eat.
Here are some of the activities that go into making a quality school meal possible:
School Food Professionals receive significant training in evolving federal nutrition standards and food safety requirements. They also need to know culinary techniques that let them prepare fresh, healthy, and delicious meals efficiently and at a high volume.
Many School Food Professionals are building relationships with local California farms so they can source the freshest, most nutritious, most delicious ingredients for students. They know healthy meals need to be appetizing for kids to eat them!
Across California, School Food Professionals aren’t just planning menus that meet strict and complex USDA nutritional requirements, they are developing recipes that incorporate more scratch cooking, use fresher ingredients, and work with flavors kids love.
It’s simple – when students get the fresh, healthy meals they need, they pay better attention in class. It’s hard to focus when you’re hangry.
But don’t just take our word for it: decades of research link healthy school meals to higher test scores.
California’s School Food Professionals are putting better grades on the menu. Now that’s food for thought.
For kids to succeed in the classroom, they need to be supported in both body and mind.
It’s not just that lunchtime offers a welcome break from the school day– though that’s part of it – it’s that receiving a thoughtfully crafted meal makes kids feel valued, boosting their self-esteem and outlook.
And studies consistently show that eating more fruits and veggies makes people happier.
Early exposure to healthy foods can shape a child’s lifelong eating habbits.
School Food Professionals lead by example, introducing kids to healthier options, and making them enjoyable by cutting whole foods into snackable sizes or incorporating culturally familiar flavors like tahín.
Together with parents, they are setting kids up for a lifetime of healthy eating habits.
As the operators of what are often the largest restaurants in their communities, and the providers of millions of daily meals, School Food Professionals are uniquely positioned to impact food systems at scale.
To learn more about the impact School Food Professionals can have beyond schools, follow the links below:
Together, we can set the table for fresher, healthier school meals that empower kids in the classroom and beyond.