Conscious Kitchen

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The Conscious Kitchen is an unprecedented, scalable program dedicated to a systemic transformation of school dining, to the health and improved life outcomes of our children, and to a thriving future for our planet. The Conscious Kitchen partners with schools to shift the paradigm, guiding them to implement food programs based on five foundational terms: fresh, local, organic, seasonal, non-GMO (F

LOSN). These terms form the heart of this groundbreaking program and define an unwavering commitment to nourishing children with ethically sourced and organically grown food. The Conscious Kitchen successfully breaks the cycle of unhealthy, pre-packaged, processed, heat and serve foods, transitioning to meals made with scratch-cooked ingredients purchased within USDA budgets and far exceeding nutritional guidelines.

Meet “Farmer Al” Courchesne, founder of Frog Hollow Farm in Brentwood, California, where he has been growing stone fruit...
08/22/2026

Meet “Farmer Al” Courchesne, founder of Frog Hollow Farm in Brentwood, California, where he has been growing stone fruit since 1976. 🍑🌱

Farmer Al began farming organically in the early 1980s, rooted in a commitment to care for the soil, protect water, and steward the land in a way that supports healthy communities and ecosystems.

For nearly five decades, he has been a passionate advocate for organic farming, conservation, and sustainable land use, with a deep belief that healthy food begins with healthy soil. At Frog Hollow Farm, that means farming with intention—building soil health, supporting biodiversity, and caring for the people who work the land.

Choosing organic for school meals means supporting farmers like Al who care deeply for the soil, the planet, and the communities they feed.

📚🌱 Back to School with Real Organic Food

This week, Wccusd Food Services Department welcomed their entire department back to school with a special day of updates...
08/20/2026

This week, Wccusd Food Services Department welcomed their entire department back to school with a special day of updates, planning for the year ahead, and conversations with community partners—including Conscious Kitchen and some of the organic farmers who help make their school meals possible. 🌱

Al Courchesne of Frog Hollow Farm, Marlen Tapia of Mimi's Organic Farm, and Yadira Mendiola of The Queen Of Vegetables Organic Farm shared their stories, what inspired them to farm organically, and how school-supported agriculture has created meaningful opportunities for their farms and families.

Thank you to WCCUSD for the opportunity to bring farmers directly into the conversation, and to the entire Food Services team for the work you do every day to make fresh, organic school meals possible! 💚

Meet Kat Soltanmorad, Director of Food & Nutrition Services at Tahoe Truckee Unified School District (), where fresh, sc...
08/18/2026

Meet Kat Soltanmorad, Director of Food & Nutrition Services at Tahoe Truckee Unified School District (), where fresh, scratch-cooked food has become the standard. 🌱

Since joining TTUSD in 2012, Kat and the Food Services team has helped transform the district’s school food program. Today, 80% of meals are scratch cooked, 75% of produce is locally and organically grown, and single-use plastic items and milk cartons have been replaced with more sustainable alternatives.

Last year alone, TTUSD sourced more than 250,000 pounds of local and organic produce, working with Tahoe Food Hub to purchase from more than 50 local farmers.

Kat’s work shows what’s possible when a district makes a long-term commitment to better food. From bringing seasonal ingredients into school kitchens to piloting recipes like Organic Butternut Squash Mac & Cheese, she and her team are making fresh, delicious food part of students’ everyday experience.

And now, as one of the lead districts in the Conscious Organic School Food Purchasing Cooperative, TTUSD is helping take that commitment even further—working alongside other districts to make organic purchasing easier and more accessible across California.

This is what Back to School with Real Organic Food looks like: school food leaders turning their values into action, one meal at a time. 📚💚

There’s nothing quite like tomatoes at the peak of summer. 🍅🌱This recipe from (adapted for at-home use) brings together...
08/17/2026

There’s nothing quite like tomatoes at the peak of summer. 🍅🌱

This recipe from (adapted for at-home use) brings together juicy cherry tomatoes, red onion, cilantro, jalapeño, and fresh citrus for a bright burst of summer flavor. Serve it with tacos, grain bowls, grilled vegetables or meats—or simply grab some tortilla chips and dig in!

Celebrate tomato season with us and try it at home! 💚

Meet Yadira Mendiola, owner of The Queen of Vegetables Organic Farm in Watsonville, in California’s Central Coast. 🌱 She...
08/13/2026

Meet Yadira Mendiola, owner of The Queen of Vegetables Organic Farm in Watsonville, in California’s Central Coast. 🌱 She began farming organically in 2020, starting with just half an acre. Today, she grows across 27 acres of organic and regenerative farmland, guided by a belief that everyone deserves access to fresh, organic food grown without toxic pesticides.

Yadira is known for her exceptionally fresh, crunchy organic romaine, along with strawberries, carrots, and other seasonal vegetables. But her impact extends beyond her own fields. She also works with neighboring small organic farmers to aggregate romaine for school orders—helping schools access the volume they need while creating reliable markets for more local growers.

That connection is at the heart of Conscious Kitchen’s work: bringing schools and organic farmers together in ways that nourish students, strengthen local farm economies, and support healthier ecosystems.

When schools invest their purchasing power in local organic food, that impact reaches far beyond the school dining hall. It helps build stronger markets for farmers like Yadira, and a more resilient food system for all. 💚

What’s more chic than feeding kids fresh, local, organic, seasonal, nutritious (FLOSN) food—all while supporting local f...
08/11/2026

What’s more chic than feeding kids fresh, local, organic, seasonal, nutritious (FLOSN) food—all while supporting local farms and healthier ecosystems? 🌱

Every day, Conscious Kitchen works alongside school leaders, organic producers, and partners to build the relationships and systems that make that all possible.

Around here, these things aren’t just kinda chic, they’re how we believe school food should be. 💚

Meet Alexandra (Alex) Emmott, Director of Food & Nutrition Services at Mt. Diablo Unified School District, where she and...
08/11/2026

Meet Alexandra (Alex) Emmott, Director of Food & Nutrition Services at Mt. Diablo Unified School District, where she and her team serve more than 24,000 meals each day across 55 schools.

After decades working in restaurants, school nutrition, and even running her own farm-to-table bakery, Alex brings a deep belief in the power of school food to create positive environmental and social change.

As the lead district for the Conscious Organic School Food Purchasing Cooperative (Conscious Co-op), Alex is helping bring 16 school districts together to purchase organic food collaboratively—making it easier for schools to source fresh, organic ingredients, creating more reliable markets for farmers, and helping drive down costs through collective buying.

This is what leadership looks like: using the power of school food to nourish students, strengthen local agriculture, and build a healthier food system for everyone.

📚🌱 Back to School with Real Organic Food

We're grateful to The Defender for sharing the story of Conscious Kitchen and our founder, Judi Shils, and our organizat...
08/10/2026

We're grateful to The Defender for sharing the story of Conscious Kitchen and our founder, Judi Shils, and our organization's journey from a one-week experiment serving fresh, local, organic food at a school in Marin City to the growing network of school food leaders, organic farmers, distributors, food makers, and partners working together across California today.

More than a decade into this work, we've learned that change happens when an entire ecosystem comes together around a shared purpose. It takes the relationships and systems that make fresh, local, organic food accessible to schools, and lasting benefits for students, farmers, communities, and the planet.

As Judi shares in the article, "there is no one-size-fits-all model." Every community's path looks different: some start with a single ingredient, others with one partnership or one district ready to take the first step.

Thank you to Jill Erzen for taking the time to tell this story and to the many people across California who continue to build this work alongside us.

Read the full article at the link in our bio!

It’s time to go back to school with real organic food! 🌱 What if school lunch could do more than feed kids? What if ever...
08/06/2026

It’s time to go back to school with real organic food! 🌱 What if school lunch could do more than feed kids? What if every meal also strengthened local economies, supported organic agriculture, created new opportunities for food businesses, and invested in healthier communities?

Across California, that's exactly what's happening.

Over the next several weeks, we'll take you behind the scenes of the people making it possible. You'll meet the school nutrition leaders, organic producers, partners, and students who are helping transform how more than 6 million California students eat.

Because serving fresh, local, organic food in schools takes a village of people across the food system, working together to build stronger farms, healthier communities, and a more resilient food future.

Follow along as we celebrate the people proving that real organic food belongs in every school dining hall. 💚

August’s Organic Produce of the Month: Tomatoes! 🍅With more than 10,000 varieties, tomatoes bring incredible color and f...
08/03/2026

August’s Organic Produce of the Month: Tomatoes! 🍅

With more than 10,000 varieties, tomatoes bring incredible color and flavor to summer meals. First cultivated by Indigenous communities in South America and later spread through Central America and Mexico, tomatoes are now a staple in kitchens around the world.

Packed with vitamin C, vitamin K, potassium, folate, and lycopene, tomatoes are as nutritious as they are delicious. They thrive in warm sunshine, and choosing seasonal, organic tomatoes helps support healthier soils, biodiversity, and a lower environmental footprint than greenhouse-grown varieties.

Fresh, vibrant, and full of summer flavor—there's no better time to enjoy organic tomatoes. 🌱

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Sausalito, CA
94965

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(415) 289-1001

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