Our primary grants and programs are proven ways to advance access to healthy food choices and build direct connections between kids and the roots of their food. Each salad bar or garden that a school adds is a building block towards reinventing school food.
School food transformation, however, is not about changing just one thing. It is changing everything — school districts’ entire food programs. By facilitating the right environments and partnerships for permanent systemic changes within school food, we are working to wholly transform the way students eat and think about food.
Whole Kids Foundation has joined forces with Chef Ann Foundation for the Get School Cooking Grant, which supports small- and medium-sized school districts in the U.S. working to transform their food service programs from processed foods to scratch-cooked meals. The comprehensive, multi-year program addresses five key areas of school food operations: food, finance, facilities, human resources and marketing and includes a grant to help districts facilitate these recommendations.
Transitioning to scratch cooking? Check out Chef Ann Foundation’s The Lunch Box, the largest online resource for scratch cooking in schools and features step-by-step guides, management tools, recipes and menus, and other resources to help schools improve their meal programs.
We're honored to be a founding partner, along with the state of CA, of the first ever scratch-cooked school food focused Fellowship being launched by our friends at the Chef Ann Foundation. The Healthy School Food Pathway Fellowship is the first of its kind and will support the next generation of diverse leaders in school food.
Get educated, get organized and get started with this Parent Advocacy Toolkit featuring tools and resources designed to guide parents advocating for healthier school food in their communities.
This year, National School Lunch Week is October 10-14. The annual event highlights the importance of a healthy school lunch and the impact balanced nutrition has on a student’s success both inside and outside of the classroom.
It’s also a great time to take a look at the history, current state and the future potential of school food.
As a 2018 Get Schools Cooking Grant Recipient, Napa Valley Unified School District is on a mission to shift from heat-and-serve processed foods to healthier, scratch-cooked student meals using real ingredients.
As we welcome five new school districts to the Get Schools Cooking program, it’s the perfect time to check in with a changemaker with Napa Valley Unified School District, a 2018 program partner, and learn more about what it took for the district to begin serving more wholesome choices.
ScratchWorks is a collective of school food professionals and non-profit organizations committed to providing children the healthiest meals possible by supporting school districts in cooking school meals from scratch using whole, fresh ingredients that provide students with the nutrition they need for their educational success, health, and wellbeing.
We reached out to Nancy and Mara to get the scoop on ScratchWorks and what’s they’re looking forward to.
With 24 years of experience, Patricia Leach, a food service worker, is just who you’d want at the forefront of San Francisco Unified School District’s school food transformation.
During this year’s South by Southwest (SXSW) in Austin, Texas, Whole Kids Foundation took part in The Copernicus Project, part art exhibit, part science experiment and part immersive interactive experience, which explored the current state of our food system and examined our roles and responsibilities in shaping its future.
The Chef Ann Foundation (CAF) is dedicated to promoting whole-ingredient, scratch-cooking in schools by ensuring that school food professionals have the resources, funding and support they need to provide fresh, healthy, delicious, cook from scratch meals. This approach enables schools to serve the healthiest, tastiest meals so that kids are well-fed and ready to learn.
We reached out to Mara Fleishman, CEO at Chef Ann Foundation, to get the scoop on how they are helping kids learn to love fresh, nutritious, whole foods.
Thanks to CIA (Culinary Institute of America) Healthy Kids Collaborative, 30 plant-focused recipes are now available on thelunchbox.org, an online toolkit that provides free step-by-step guides, tools, recipes and other resources to help schools improve their meal programs and convert to scratch-cooking.
Wellness in the Schools is a national nonprofit that teaches children healthy habits to learn, live and thrive. They partner with public schools, chefs and coaches to ensure access to nourishing food and active play. Their collaborative approach and programming aim to shift the culture of schools to prioritize well-being.
We reached out to Nancy Easton, Co-Founder and Executive Director at Wellness in the Schools, to get the scoop on how they are helping kids learn to love fresh, nutritious, whole foods.
Created for school kitchens, tested in cafeterias and kid approved, each recipe in The Lunch Box is analyzed for USDA meal components and can be easily adjusted to fit any portion quantity.
Stay up to date on our grant programs and how our favorite schools and organizations are doing!
Stay up to date on our grant programs and how our favorite schools and organizations are doing!
