No more nuggets? School lunch goes farm-to-table — for some

CONCORD, Calif. — As the fine-dining chef at a suburban high school gave samples of his newest recipes, junior Anahi Nava Flores critiqued a baguette sandwich with Toscano salami, organic Monterey Jack, arugula and a scratch-made basil spread: “This pesto aioli is good!"

What's more, federal money to boost lunch budgets has declined. The government last year ended a pandemic-era program offering free school meals to everyone. A few states, such as California,but most states went back to charging all but the neediest kids for meals. A staff shortage makes it impossible to cook more food from scratch, she said. The school relies on mass-produced food that is delivered, then reheated. The pizza: “It’s done; you just bake it.” The spicy chicken sandwich: “You heat it and put it on a bun.” The corn dogs: “You just have to wrap it,” she said.

Not many schools can afford gourmet offerings like Mount Diablo's, which also benefits from California’s year-round growing season. But school menus in several places have improved in the past decade, with fresher ingredients and more ethnic dishes, said School Nutrition Association spokesperson Diane Pratt-Heavner.nearly all said the rising costs of food and supplies were their top challenges this year. More than 90% said they were facing supply chain and staffing shortages.

“If you don’t have a kitchen to chop things up, there’s not much you can do with fresh vegetables,” said Nina Ichikawa, executive director of the Berkeley Food Institute, part of a team evaluating a California farm-to-school incubator grant. She describes California’s investments as undoing past damage.

The district’s five schools lack functional kitchens, so her staff spends half the day unpacking deliveries of processed, pre-made food. But Boal is excited about change on the horizon. The district recently applied for state grants to put new kitchens in every school and bring in more produce.“I haven’t served a chicken nugget here in two years. And the kids don’t miss it,” said Dominic Machi, who has reimagined meals for the district since he became nutrition director five years ago.

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