Something new is simmering in California schools. Across the state, School Food Professionals are working hard to transform school meals — making them fresher, healthier and packed with flavors kids love. Using scratch-cooking techniques, locally grown ingredients and recipes representing their communities, they’re cooking up a future that looks — and tastes — great.
These changes don’t happen on their own. Behind every delicious, nourishing school lunch is a team of skilled chefs, nutritionists and kitchen and cafeteria staff leading the charge.
Across California, School Food Professionals are training rigorously, refining their culinary skills to cook good-and-good-for-you meals for students. They’re listening to student feedback, incorporating their cultures and diverse tastes while helping them develop lifelong healthy eating habits. Along the way, School Food Professionals are managing complex production processes and working with local farms to ensure the freshest and healthiest ingredients.
Better school food makes an impact that goes beyond the lunch tray. Students who eat healthy school meals perform better academically and feel better in body and mind. And for many California students, school meals are their primary source of nutrition, making this work a vital part of communities across the state.
"Students who eat breakfast and lunch focus and concentrate better, and they score higher on their tests," says Sarah Phillips, Assistant Director of Nutrition Services at Oxnard Union High School District. “Having a nutritious meal that we're offering to the students every day is the whole reason we're here.”
School Food Professionals make a huge difference in the lives of kids throughout the state, and their impact is growing every day. One in three California school districts now report high levels of scratch cooking, and close to half saw improvements in meal quality in the 2022-2023 school year.
“We’ve made so much progress over the last decade, and we’re just getting started,” said Kat Soltanmorad, Director of Food and Nutrition Services at Tahoe Truckee Unified School District. “I’m really proud to be part of school food service and what it stands for now.”
On March 12th, a statewide recipe competition — the Powered by School Food Professionals Awards — celebrated the incredible work underway to improve California’s school meal programs. The award categories exemplify the momentum and impact of this transformation.
- Best Original Recipe: San Luis Coastal Unified School District’s Thai Basil Lentil Burger
- Best Scratch-Cooked Adaptation: Azusa Unified School District’s Chicken Wings
- Best Take on a Culinary Trend: Upland Unified School District’s Vegan Lemon Blueberry Breakfast Bar
- Best Farm to School Recipe: Nevada City School of the Arts’ Whole Wheat Penne Pasta
- Best Culturally Relevant Recipe: San Diego Unified School District’s Birria
- Community Choice Recipe: Marysville Joint Unified School District’s Kickin’ Kiwi Chicken Chili Verde
The winners demonstrate the expertise and innovation needed to create fresher, healthier and more culturally relevant school meals. They are a symbol of the growing movement to improve school food and set California kids up for success, a movement driven by the passion, expertise and dedication of our state’s School Food Professionals.
“On every tray, you can see the dietician’s healthy planning, the chef’s passion and the cooks’ homemade touches,” says Stella Ndahura, Director of Nutrition Services at Azusa Unified School District. “They work hard and are incredibly caring, which is why students come into the cafeteria every day.”
