Author: fentonadmin

School Food Professionals are transforming school meal programs across the country, resulting in better meals for students. Yet despite their many valuable contributions, School Food Professionals don’t get the recognition they deserve. 

School food teams are moving away from serving prepackaged, ultra-processed foods to cooked-from-scratch meals that incorporate fresher ingredients and new techniques. But that’s just the beginning. School Food Professionals improve the lives of our children in so many ways, from cooking delicious and nutritious meals that help students succeed, to educating kids about healthy eating habits, introducing them to new ingredients and dishes, celebrating their backgrounds and cultures, and serving as a welcoming, friendly voice during mealtimes. 

The general public often sees school food jobs as requiring low levels of skill and expertise. On the contrary, the opposite is true, but the public’s perception makes it harder for School Food Professionals to recruit advocates and allies who can support them in improving our kids’ school meals, pushing for fresher and more local ingredients, and building support for better training and wages. Through a grant provided by the California Community Colleges Chancellor’s Office and in partnership with the State of California, the Chef Ann Foundation decided to take action, launching Powered by School Food Professionals — a California-based campaign designed to change how people across the state think and feel about School Food Professionals.

The Problems: Perception and Understanding

In order to correct these misperceptions, the first step was to get a better sense of what they were and what causes them. To achieve that, we talked to California parents across the state. Using surveys and focus groups, we found that they generally saw School Food Professionals as hardworking people who make a positive difference, but they also related school food work to low skill, social status, and value.

When examining where these views come from, we found that many people are simply unaware of what School Food Professionals do. That lack of knowledge goes on to reinforce stereotypes and inaccurate perceptions of the role, and it leaves School Food Professionals feeling underappreciated in their work. 

Changing the Narratives

To change these narratives and help Californians understand the amazing contributions of School Food Professionals, we used a full-court-press approach – educating people about who they are and what they do, uplifting the stories of real School Food Professionals working in the field, and drawing attention to their impact and efforts to transform school food. This included a wide spectrum of approaches, such as using first-person storytelling to introduce audiences to School Food Professionals and showcase their many skills, educating audiences on how they support students’ health, wellbeing, and academic performance, and celebrating their contributions through a statewide awards ceremony.

Getting Results

The “Powered By School Food Professionals” campaign was  successful in reaching California K-12 parents, School Food Professionals, and the general public. Using surveys and 1-on-1 and group conversations, we measured the campaign’s success at reaching, resonating, and changing the perceptions of these audiences.  

Between April 2023-April 2024, the campaign reached more than 24 million Californians. The advertisements, translated into seven languages, had 200 million total impressions, surpassing the goal for the entire campaign in less than two months.

In talking to K-12 parents, we found that more now see the skills School Food Professionals bring to their work. After the campaign launched, the percentage of parents who said they believed that School Food Professionals are professional and skilled, influence menus, and have culinary training and nutritional expertise, increased by 10 percentage points to 59%. Statewide, this represents a positive change in perceptions for up to 1.1 million people. Parents also strongly recognized the positive impact that School Food Professionals have on students’ moods, health, and academic performance. 

Changing the Narrative in Your Community

The important contributions of School Food Professionals aren’t limited to California. In all 50 states, skilled, committed, and innovative professionals are working to reimagine what school meals can be. 

Our hope is that the “Powered By School Food Professionals” campaign inspires others to improve the way that people in their communities think and talk about the school food profession. Improving the awareness and appreciation of School Food Professionals opens the door to higher wages, more training, and increased prominence within their districts and communities, which all lead to better meals and outcomes for students. 

But you don’t need to wait for a campaign. Changing perceptions begins with conversations between neighbors, at PTA meetings, with your school district administration and your elected representatives.

This momentum builds over time. With every conversation you have, you help more people understand the value and commitment to advocating for School Food Professionals. Everyone has a stake in school food, and everyone has a reason to take action. When kids are healthy and succeed in school, we all benefit. Students feel better and perform better academically, the local economy prospers, communities grow stronger, and members of the school food profession are more fulfilled in their jobs.  

Together, we can all achieve a better state for school food — starting with valued School Food Professionals.

To learn more, read our white paper, entitled “Elevating the Perceptions of School Food Professionals in California: A Case Study.”

Across California, kids are headed back to school. From San Diego to Mount Shasta and everywhere in between, School Food Professionals are there to meet the demand, providing tasty meals that give children the nutrition they need to succeed. Every parent knows how challenging it is to come up with varied recipes, ensure they’re healthy and match them to their child’s taste. School Food Professionals do that for hundreds of kids or more, two to three times a day. 

It takes a lot of skills to work in school food. The job is equal parts art and science. It requires the imagination to explore new recipes. It takes planning and organizational skills to standardize and replicate them across multiple school sites. And, of course, it calls for culinary expertise to perfectly cook those fresh and healthy dishes, all while adhering to department budgets. We asked School Food Professionals from across California about what they think are some of the most important skills needed to plan, cook and serve school meals:

Staying Organized

Cooking for thousands of students isn’t something a person can do on the fly. At each step in the process, there are many details, and members of the school food team have to keep track of them all. “To serve about 1,500 breakfasts, 2,700 lunches, more than 1,000 suppers on a daily basis, it takes a lot of organizational skills,” said Michelle Pruitt Roybal, Nutrition Services Supervisor at Azusa Unified School District. “I have to keep track of the different dishes we’re making and how many pans we need to produce, as well as make sure we’ve got all the spices, ingredients and everything that’s needed for nine schools. Then the next day, I get up and do it again. I love it!” 

Understanding What Students Want on Their Trays

To make the meals that students love, School Food Professionals need to start with the flavors and foods they like. To do that, School Food Professionals need to know who students are and what foods they enjoy. That could mean creating dishes that connect with students’ cultural backgrounds, like pozole or chana masala, or whipping up healthier versions of classic cafeteria foods like spicy chicken wings. But the best way to find out what flavors hit the spot is to ask students directly. At Oxnard Union High School District, that can even include digital surveys about new recipes. “We love getting student feedback that way,” says Assistant Director of Nutrition Services Sarah Phillips. “We want our menu to be tailored to them, so they enjoy the foods they’re being offered.”

Flexing Creativity

In the school kitchen, creativity reigns supreme. Whether developing fresh, healthy and tasty recipes, creating exciting menus that keep kids coming back for more, or coming up with approaches that reduce waste and make their programs more sustainable, School Food Professionals have endless opportunities to share their innovative ideas. Just ask Live Oak School District Director of Child Nutrition Kelsey Perusse. She turned a seasonal surplus of kale into a brand new recipe that’s a hit with students. “It’s fun to see them get so excited,” Kelsey said. “You don’t usually expect to hear a third grader shouting ‘It’s kale pesto day!’” 

Continuous Improvement

To keep up with changing trends, tastes, and approaches, School Food Professionals have to be students themselves. That’s why they are always learning new skills and scratch cooking techniques and deepening their knowledge about nutrition, food safety and more. By doing so, they continue to raise the bar for themselves and their colleagues while creating tastier and more nutritious meals for the students they serve. “Our team really embraces the trainings we provide, even the optional ones,” said Christina Lawson, Director of Food Services at Western Placer Unified School District. “They do it because they’re excited to expand their skill sets and cook better food for our kids.”

From planning to plating and everything in between, School Food Professionals bring an incredible amount of skill and commitment to their work. And to Azusa Unified School District Chef Carol Ramos, the payoff is more than worth it. “When I see the kids enjoying my food, it brings me so much happiness,” she said. “That’s what keeps me going.”

“Nutrition or nuggets?” It’s a choice every parent has faced. You know your child needs to eat healthy meals; they only want the same old ultra-processed, unhealthy foods. But the healthiest meal in the world doesn’t do any good if it stays on the plate. So what’s a parent to do? 

Fortunately, children all over California are learning that healthy, fresh, and tasty can all exist on the same plate — thanks to the creativity and skill of our state’s School Food Professionals. More schools and districts are embracing scratch-cooked meals and fresh, seasonal ingredients, and students are asking for seconds. And when they get the same types of fresh and healthy meals at home, the result is healthier, happier, and more successful kids. 

School Food Professionals cook for hundreds and thousands of the toughest food critics in existence — students — on a daily basis. They shared with us some of their best tips on how to make kid-approved favorites that are as good for your child as they are for the taste buds. 

Start From Scratch

Creating a healthy diet means thinking outside the box (or bag, or wrapper). Ultra-processed foods — industrially prepared foods loaded with added ingredients, including salt, sugar, artificial colors, and others — are linked to dozens of health conditions, such as cardiovascular disease and type-2 diabetes. Cooking from scratch using fresh, minimally-processed proteins and produce, on the other hand, is connected with better physical and mental health, more energy and greater success in the classroom. “Nobody should be eating processed foods 100% of the time. That’s why it’s so important that we’re introducing fresh ingredients and real cooked food across the board in schools,” said RJ Lane, chef at West Contra Costa Unified School District.

The Old Switcheroo

Healthy dishes start with healthy ingredients. So if your little one just has to have pizza, don’t despair!  Switch out the white flour with whole wheat flour for a crust that’s higher in nutrients like protein, iron and fiber. By swapping in low-fat cheese, you can reduce the level of saturated fat while still getting all the calcium kids need. The result? A better-for-you pizza that your child will love. It’s a tactic that Esther Huizar, cafeteria manager at Oak Valley Union Elementary, uses often. “For our chicken quesadillas, we use whole-wheat tortillas, low-fat cheese and lean chicken that we cook with fresh tomato, onions and garlic,” Huizar said.

Bring on the Spice

Supercharge the flavor of your dishes, and the kids will come running. But that doesn’t mean you need to pour on the fat, salt and sugar. Upping your seasoning game is one of the easiest ways to pack in the taste without compromising on nutrition. Herbs and spices like ginger, cardamom, rosemary, basil and many others can be used in place of less-healthy ingredients like sugar and salt, making meals better for you AND better tasting. In fact, a recent study in the Journal of the Academy of Nutrition and Dietetics used a blind taste test to see how people liked foods — such as meatloaf, chili, apple pie, pasta with meat sauce, and taco meat — that used herbs and spices to replace a significant amount of salt, sugar and saturated fat. The study found participants enjoyed a majority of the healthier versions just as much as the original recipes. “To make sure marinara tastes good while being mindful about sodium content, just add fresh herbs and spices,” said Stella Ndahura, director of nutrition services at Azusa Unified School District. “That way it still has lots of flavor, and you’re promoting health and well-being.”

Healthy meals don’t have to be a chore. With a little creativity and the right ingredients, any parent can create their own healthy spin on their children’s favorite dishes. By doing so, you’re not just giving them a nutritious meal for the day. You’re also building healthy eating habits that can last a lifetime.

“Start by giving them what they know, then try to put some veggies in it and do a little twist here and there,” said Azusa Unified School District Chef Carol Ramos. “If they’re on board, take it a little further —  something like a little quinoa on a salad. Maybe they’ll try it and say, ‘This is really good!’” 

I’ve always had a deep appreciation for farms, ranchers, and locally grown food. Growing up, my dad was a rancher, farmer and hunter, and I was raised with a hands-on connection to the land. My passion for food and farming came full circle when I went on to study Agricultural Business at California Polytechnic University in San Luis Obispo. 

With my love for cooking and roots in agriculture, farm-to-table cuisine — which uses fresh, seasonal, and locally sourced ingredients — felt like a natural path. Working directly with local producers and serving our community was exactly where I wanted to be. 

Early in my restaurant career, I was the sous chef at a fine dining restaurant that centered on a farm-to-table philosophy. Our menu changed daily based on what we grew in our gardens and what we could get from the farmers’ market. My time there sparked a deep love of seasonal, locally sourced ingredients and changed the course of my life. 

As I developed my craft, I became an executive chef, a role that pushed my creativity and taught me to be resourceful and intentional about the ingredients I used. Over the years, I opened multiple restaurants, each committed to building strong relationships with local farmers and showcasing the best of what our region had to offer. Eventually, I managed a small restaurant group which earned a mention in the Michelin Guide in 2022. 

When I started thinking about a career change after two decades in the restaurant industry, a friend told me to check out an opportunity at San Luis Coastal Unified School District. From the moment I met Erin Primer, the district’s food & nutrition services director, I could see we shared the same ideas. 

Erin had the food services team preparing high-quality meals for 10,000 students every day. Similar to what I was doing in the restaurants, she  focused on using farm-fresh products from local producers and keeping money in the community — but on a much larger scale. She even worked with a lot of the same local farmers I did. Erin also championed approaches that made the food program more inclusive for kids who might be experiencing food insecurity, which is an issue close to my heart. It was amazing to meet someone who was aligned with me on so many different things.

I was all in, so I joined the department and now, I’m part of an amazing team. Together, we’re elevating what school food can be, and we’re making life better for our kids and community.

I like to say that I am merely the middle-man from farmer to student. When you start with something that was picked in peak season, it doesn’t need much enhancement. Our team uses their creativity to dream up recipes that let these fresh and local ingredients shine. A lot of hands-on collaboration and planning go into getting the ingredients prepped and onto a student’s tray. Sure, buying straight from the farm isn’t always easy — try washing 300 pounds of fresh-out-of-the-ground carrots — but that’s a worthwhile tradeoff to support small, local businesses. 

Farm-to-school, the school version of farm-to-table, has its challenges. Identifying local farmers, getting them up to speed and bringing them on board takes a lot of work. But it’s worth it. A lot of farmers’ kids go to school in our district. Buying local helps those students, and it allows them to say with pride, “This comes from my family’s farm!” 

When a big buyer like a school sources from local producers, it makes a huge difference to everyone. Our pasta maker worked with us to create a recipe that could meet school nutrition guidelines and needs. Now, he’s supplying school districts throughout the state. He’s gone from this tiny space to a facility the size of an airplane hangar, and he’s hired an entire staff. Another vendor developed a breakfast item for us, and she also wound up bringing on a whole team and building out infrastructure to meet the increased demand. It’s great to see the choices we make create jobs in our community. My heart swells with pride at the impact we’re making.

We’re working to make school food better in our district, and we’re doing it for all our students. When I was young, I experienced firsthand the stigma that was associated with “free lunch.” At that time, students getting subsidized meals had to wait in a separate line. That kind of separation sends a message to a child – that needing help makes them lesser. But when you’ve got to eat, you can’t really do anything about it. 

Universal free meals came along and changed all that. No more separate lines, and any student who wants a meal can have one. It’s such a beautiful thing, and it has led to way more kids participating. 

When students eat school meals, it removes that stigma, builds a sense of community, and creates a positive relationship with food. By making school meals a shared experience, we promote equity and support local agriculture, and we help students build lifelong healthy habits. Because more students are eating school meals, our program generates additional funding, allowing us to reinvest in higher-quality ingredients, improve menus, and pay more livable wages. 

Today, all our kids are excited about the meals we make. They run to the lunch line or the breakfast line, and express enthusiasm over the meals on the menu. There are fast food restaurants near the campus, but the kids come to us anyway, because our food is better and it’s free. We’re competing, we’re winning and no kids get left out. 

Our goal as a district is to spread this work far and wide. We want to plant the seed, set an example and collaborate with anybody and everybody who wants to make school food better, fresher, healthier and more local. Our vision is to create a school food culture where every student is nourished, respected, and excited to eat. One that supports their health today and empowers their potential for the future. 

So whatever that looks like, as long as we’ve got that north star in our minds and we’re moving in that direction, something good is going to bloom.

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.