Chef Ann Foundation

10/12/2026

Happy National School Lunch Week! Every year, we honor school food professionals who replace ultraprocessed foods with fresh, whole ingredients to drive systemic change.

All week, we'll spotlight five school districts (School Food Renegades, as we call them) who cook an impressive amount from scratch — some of the most in the country.

These Renegades lead the way in school food reform and aren’t afraid to challenge the usual way of doing things. We appreciate their dedication to making sure kids across the country get the healthy meals they deserve. Let’s celebrate these changemakers:

🫛 Boulder Valley School District (Colorado)
🫛 Burnt Ranch Elementary School District (California)
🫛 Fallbrook Union High School District (California)
🫛 Prince Edward County Public Schools (Virginia)
🫛 Dryden Central School District (New York)

10/11/2026

School districts across California are shifting from ultraprocessed foods to freshly-prepared meals featuring more California-grown ingredients.

Join us in Sacramento, California, on October 15 for “Farm to School in the Kitchen: From Ultraprocessed to Fresh School Meals,” a panel at the 2026 California Farm to School Summit. Hear how school food professionals are getting creative and making meaningful change in menus, kitchens, and the student experience.​

This panel will be moderated by Chef Ann Foundation Co-Founder and CEO Mara Fleishman. It features Ambrosia Allen of Elk Grove Unified School District, Sunny Baker of the National Farm to School Network, and Stella Ndahura of Azusa Unified School District.

To find out more and sign up, visit: https://cafarmtoschoolsummit.com/

Center for Ecoliteracy

10/10/2026

In celebration of Hispanic Heritage Month, we proudly honor the Hispanic and Latinx community for their essential contributions to the school food workforce and the broader food system.

When partnering with school food teams, we are continually inspired by how they draw on their culinary skills and cultural heritage to prepare authentic, scratch-cooked meals for students. Explore the slides to see a selection of delicious Hispanic and Latinx-inspired dishes recently prepared by our partner school districts throughout California.

Oro Grande School District Fallbrook High School Oak Valley Union Elementary School District

10/09/2026

Over 49,000 students now have access to fresh fruits and vegetables, whole grains, and healthy proteins on their new school salad bars.

This means our grantees in 38 school districts across 18 states now offer fewer ultraprocessed foods and more whole foods that nourish students, building lifelong healthy habits.

Learn about our program's impact here: https://ow.ly/PMjw50ZWjHe

Thank you to our mission-aligned partners, Whole Foods Market Foundation, Blue Cross Blue Shield of Michigan, and the Denver Broncos Foundation, for their generous funding that makes these grants possible.

📷: Odyssey Charter Schools (2025 Salad Bars to Schools grantee).

10/08/2026

🍎👀 Do you hear that crunch? 😁

It’s the sound of students eating local Washington apples at Ellensburg School District Child Nutrition. The apples are harvested less than 10 miles away from the district at K & F Orchards, a second-generation family-owned apple orchard.

“Partnering with local farms like K&F Orchards allows us to bring peak-season produce straight into our cafeterias. Serving crisp, locally grown apples gives our students the highest quality nutrition while directly supporting the hard-working agricultural community that makes Ellensburg so special.” — Alexandra Epstein-Solfield, Child Nutrition Director, Ellensburg School District

“As the only local orchard currently providing apples to our schools, we’re incredibly proud to give students the opportunity to enjoy fruit grown right here in their own community. For us, it’s about more than providing apples—it’s about supporting our schools, local agriculture, and helping kids understand where their food comes from.” — Kim Funston, Owner/Operator, K&F Orchards

Ellensburg School District is a 2025 graduate of our Get Schools Cooking program and a 2015 Salad Bars to Schools grantee. They source fresh, local ingredients that complement their innovative scratch-cooked recipes.

National Farm to School Network

10/08/2026

10/07/2026

🌱 New Resource Alert! 🥗

Purchasing local produce can offer transparency into on-farm practices and greater product tracking from farms to school kitchens. We recommend stocking salad bars with locally sourced greens and using labeling cards to highlight locally grown foods.

Ready to get started? Download our labeling cards here: https://ow.ly/gHOs50ZVE2a

10/07/2026

10/06/2026

If the idea of scratch cooking in schools seems like a major undertaking, you aren’t alone. But it’s more achievable than you think. Scratch cooking isn’t an all-or-nothing leap; it’s a continuum of gradual progress.

But what does this evolution look like on the lunch tray? Let's take a student favorite like nachos. From pre-packaged, additive-heavy nachos served in plastic trays to scratch-cooked nachos featuring house-made cheese sauce and fresh-seasoned beef, learn how schools can gradually shift from ultraprocessed to scratch-made.

To learn more and follow the Nacho evolution, visit: https://ow.ly/cPvp50ZUZrx

10/05/2026

Huge news for school food in Massachusetts! 🚜

We are thrilled to celebrate CommonWealth Kitchen as they launch Feeding Futures - a groundbreaking statewide initiative that brings more local, nutritious meals to K-12 students across MA.

CommonWealth Kitchen is the first manufacturer in MA that is approved to process USDA Foods for school districts. Schools can send items like canned vegetables and fruits to the facility, where they are blended with local produce from MA farms to create nutritious, budget-friendly menu items for K-12 cafeterias.

We joined MA Lt. Governor Kim Driscoll and representatives from the Massachusetts Department of Elementary and Secondary Education, Massachusetts Farm to School, and Boston Food Hub at the manufacturing facility for the launch and a behind-the-scenes tour.

Inaugural Impact for the 2026-2027 school year:
• 89 participating districts (about 20% of the state) 🏫
• 140,000+ lbs of local MA tomatoes will be processed 🍅
• 800,000+ servings of custom-blended marinara and Indian curry sauces on student trays 🍴

Congratulations to CommonWealth Kitchen and all the partners turning local farm produce into bright futures for school food!

Learn more about this work here: https://ow.ly/Rb9v50ZUI9c