10 School Food Renegades Who Are Stirring Up Change
October 09, 2023 | By
Across the nation, school food changemakers are challenging status quos to move us closer to a world where all children not only have access to healthy and satisfying meals every day, but are equipped to cultivate positive relationships with food for themselves, their communities, and the planet.
Get to know a few of these inspiring School Food Renegades.
Lola Bloom
Food & Wellness Consultant, DC Bilingual Public Charter School (Washington, DC)
A lifelong Washingtonian, Lola has dedicated her career to providing the space, time, and resources for children and families to creatively experience the world through food, nature, and art. She is passionate about “changing the mindset that school food is just a budget line item to be minimized and kept as efficient as possible.”
Lola has fundraised for school food programs; built and developed a scratch-prep kitchen for over 600 students and staff; created an educational Food Lab and 7,000 square foot garden for culinary and gardening classes; and designed a vibrant family engagement program around food and wellness.
Lola Bloom
Food & Wellness Consultant, DC Bilingual Public Charter School (Washington, DC)
A lifelong Washingtonian, Lola has dedicated her career to providing the space, time, and resources for children and families to creatively experience the world through food, nature, and art. She is passionate about “changing the mindset that school food is just a budget line item to be minimized and kept as efficient as possible.”
Lola has fundraised for school food programs; built and developed a scratch-prep kitchen for over 600 students and staff; created an educational Food Lab and 7,000 square foot garden for culinary and gardening classes; and designed a vibrant family engagement program around food and wellness.
Mark Curtis
Distribution & Logistics Supervisor, Austin Independent School District (TX)
Mark graduated from Texas State University with a BFA in studio art, “knowing the world will need warehouse supervisors.” He spent 24 years in small package delivery before becoming the warehouse foreman for Austin Independent School District in Texas.
In addition to managing the district’s diverse logistical needs, the warehouse team works to receive, store, and deliver products to 116 school kitchens. Mark has helped the warehouse team reinvent itself in how it serves and explores all opportunities to best serve students and their community.
Mark Curtis
Distribution & Logistics Supervisor, Austin Independent School District (TX)
Mark graduated from Texas State University with a BFA in studio art, “knowing the world will need warehouse supervisors.” He spent 24 years in small package delivery before becoming the warehouse foreman for Austin Independent School District in Texas.
In addition to managing the district’s diverse logistical needs, the warehouse team works to receive, store, and deliver products to 116 school kitchens. Mark has helped the warehouse team reinvent itself in how it serves and explores all opportunities to best serve students and their community.
Warren DeShields
Director of Food Services, Bridgeton Public Schools (NJ) & School Nutrition Association Northeast Regional Director
Warren has served his hometown of Bridgeton, New Jersey for over 23 years. He oversees breakfast, lunch, snack, dinner, and summer feeding programs that impact more than 6,200 students daily.
Entering the school food industry as a trained chef, Warren wanted to serve students restaurant-style meals that are locally sourced, fresh, and nutritious. He also wanted students to have as many opportunities to eat in the cafeteria as possible—his department is currently offering 75% of the daily meals that most of Bridgerton’s students eat every day.
Warren DeShields
Director of Food Services, Bridgeton Public Schools (NJ) & School Nutrition Association Northeast Regional Director
Warren has served his hometown of Bridgeton, New Jersey for over 23 years. He oversees breakfast, lunch, snack, dinner, and summer feeding programs that impact more than 6,200 students daily.
Entering the school food industry as a trained chef, Warren wanted to serve students restaurant-style meals that are locally sourced, fresh, and nutritious. He also wanted students to have as many opportunities to eat in the cafeteria as possible—his department is currently offering 75% of the daily meals that most of Bridgerton’s students eat every day.
Nona Evans
Former President & Executive Director of Whole Kids Foundation
When Nona quit the grocery business to become a teacher, she quickly discovered how broken the education system was. She eventually had the opportunity to combine her commitment to change education with her lifelong love of food and became a founding member of Salad Bars to Schools and soon thereafter created Whole Kids Foundation with the support of a community of people dedicated to children’s health.
Since Salad Bars to Schools launched in 2010, the initiative has donated more than 6,000 salad bars to schools across the U.S. Nona knows that healthy habits are cultivated early in life—with a salad bar in the cafeteria, the Center for Disease Control and Prevention estimates kids eat 33% more fruits and vegetables.
Nona Evans
Former President & Executive Director of Whole Kids Foundation
When Nona quit the grocery business to become a teacher, she quickly discovered how broken the education system was. She eventually had the opportunity to combine her commitment to change education with her lifelong love of food and became a founding member of Salad Bars to Schools and soon thereafter created Whole Kids Foundation with the support of a community of people dedicated to children’s health.
Since Salad Bars to Schools launched in 2010, the initiative has donated more than 6,000 salad bars to schools across the U.S. Nona knows that healthy habits are cultivated early in life—with a salad bar in the cafeteria, the Center for Disease Control and Prevention estimates kids eat 33% more fruits and vegetables.
Micha James
Nutrition Director, Monterey Peninsula Unified School District (CA)
Micha is passionate about health and nutrition, and has conducted research across several areas including mental health disparities and nutrition in adults; body image disorders among college students; child development and positive/negative food relationships; and social activity and eating in older adults.
She believes strongly in the connection between nutrition and academic success, and is excited to have the opportunity to influence positive and long-term healthy eating habits within the Monterey Peninsula Unified School District community and among its students.
Micha James
Nutrition Director, Monterey Peninsula Unified School District (CA)
Micha is passionate about health and nutrition, and has conducted research across several areas including mental health disparities and nutrition in adults; body image disorders among college students; child development and positive/negative food relationships; and social activity and eating in older adults.
She believes strongly in the connection between nutrition and academic success, and is excited to have the opportunity to influence positive and long-term healthy eating habits within the Monterey Peninsula Unified School District community and among its students.
Randal Lane
District Chef, West Contra Costa Unified School District Central Kitchen (CA)
After working in restaurants and bakeries for 25 years, Randal came to West Contra Costa Unified District to improve scratch meals for 10,000 students each day. At the district’s central kitchen, Randal is part of a management crew that oversees a staff of 50 on-site employees and an additional 200 employees based in kitchens across the district.
Removing plastic from the school food system was one of Randal’s driving motivations for beginning to work in school food. Building menus of freshly prepared foods has dramatically reduced the amount of plastic used across the district, which inspires him every day to do more.
Randal Lane
District Chef, West Contra Costa Unified School District Central Kitchen (CA)
After working in restaurants and bakeries for 25 years, Randal came to West Contra Costa Unified District to improve scratch meals for 10,000 students each day. At the district’s central kitchen, Randal is part of a management crew that oversees a staff of 50 on-site employees and an additional 200 employees based in kitchens across the district.
Removing plastic from the school food system was one of Randal’s driving motivations for beginning to work in school food. Building menus of freshly prepared foods has dramatically reduced the amount of plastic used across the district, which inspires him every day to do more.
Erin Primer
Director of Food & Nutrition Services, San Luis Coastal Unified School District (CA)
Erin is a farm-to-school advocate and believes in educating youth about how food gets to their plate, while building respect for the greater food system. She constantly develops and tests new recipes that fit dietary needs while establishing food contracts with local farmers and vendors.
Erin’s son and daughter are an inspiration for her to challenge and ignore adult assumptions about the way kids interact with food, and this ultimately pilots her vision of positively impacting students with healthy food choices.
Erin Primer
Director of Food & Nutrition Services, San Luis Coastal Unified School District (CA)
Erin is a farm-to-school advocate and believes in educating youth about how food gets to their plate, while building respect for the greater food system. She constantly develops and tests new recipes that fit dietary needs while establishing food contracts with local farmers and vendors.
Erin’s son and daughter are an inspiration for her to challenge and ignore adult assumptions about the way kids interact with food, and this ultimately pilots her vision of positively impacting students with healthy food choices.
First Partner of California Jennifer Siebel Newsom
Jennifer Siebel Newsom is the First Partner of California, an award-winning filmmaker, and an influential advocate and thought leader on gender equality. She is passionate about transforming society’s expectations of what a school meal can and should be, just as she is passionate about improving children’s health, bolstering local economies, and reducing climate change.
Through her California for ALL Kids initiative, the First Partner champions programs such as California Farm to School. Farm to School is helping transform education by providing schools with the resources they need to plant lush school gardens and teach kids where their food comes from, how to prepare it, and the connection between our food and the environment — cultivating future environmental stewards.
The First Partner is married to California Governor Gavin Newsom and the mother of their four young children.
First Partner of California Jennifer Siebel Newsom
Jennifer Siebel Newsom is the First Partner of California, an award-winning filmmaker, and an influential advocate and thought leader on gender equality. She is passionate about transforming society’s expectations of what a school meal can and should be, just as she is passionate about improving children’s health, bolstering local economies, and reducing climate change.
Through her California for ALL Kids initiative, the First Partner champions programs such as California Farm to School. Farm to School is helping transform education by providing schools with the resources they need to plant lush school gardens and teach kids where their food comes from, how to prepare it, and the connection between our food and the environment — cultivating future environmental stewards.
The First Partner is married to California Governor Gavin Newsom and the mother of their four young children.
California State Senator Nancy Skinner
California’s 9th Senate District
California State Senator Nancy Skinner’s legislative achievements include her 2021 universal school meals initiative, which made California the first state in the nation to provide two free meals a day to all public school students. California’s free school meals program is now a national model that has been adopted by nine other states to date, and is included in the President’s National Strategy on Hunger, Nutrition, and Health. The initiative also eliminated and forgave all school lunch debt.
Further, Sen. Skinner secured $600 million to upgrade school kitchens for scratch meal preparation as well as for training food service staff, and over $100 million for schools to purchase local produce.
In 2023, Sen. Skinner authored SB 348, Healthy Meals for Kids, which would make California the first state to enact into law President Biden’s new nutritional standards that lower salt and sugar content in school meals. SB 348 also requires the state Dept. of Education to propose a plan to ensure children have adequate time to eat school meals. SB 348 was passed unanimously by the Legislature and is currently on the governor’s desk.
California State Senator Nancy Skinner
California’s 9th Senate District
California State Senator Nancy Skinner’s legislative achievements include her 2021 universal school meals initiative, which made California the first state in the nation to provide two free meals a day to all public school students. California’s free school meals program is now a national model that has been adopted by nine other states to date, and is included in the President’s National Strategy on Hunger, Nutrition, and Health. The initiative also eliminated and forgave all school lunch debt.
Further, Sen. Skinner secured $600 million to upgrade school kitchens for scratch meal preparation as well as for training food service staff, and over $100 million for schools to purchase local produce.
In 2023, Sen. Skinner authored SB 348, Healthy Meals for Kids, which would make California the first state to enact into law President Biden’s new nutritional standards that lower salt and sugar content in school meals. SB 348 also requires the state Dept. of Education to propose a plan to ensure children have adequate time to eat school meals. SB 348 was passed unanimously by the Legislature and is currently on the governor’s desk.
Iris Tirado
School Food & Nutrition Director, Concordia Charter School, Inc. (AZ)
Born and raised in Puerto Rico, Iris moved to Wisconsin and worked in school nutrition with the Madison Metropolitan School District for 20 years—always exploring locally procured foods and flavors.
After relocating to Arizona to enjoy retirement, Iris longed to return to the cafeteria and build a farm-to-school nutrition program. She is currently a “Renegade Food Service Manager” at Concordia Charter School, where she puts into practice her passion for delicious, nutritious, locally sourced food for her students.
Iris Tirado
School Food & Nutrition Director, Concordia Charter School, Inc. (AZ)
Born and raised in Puerto Rico, Iris moved to Wisconsin and worked in school nutrition with the Madison Metropolitan School District for 20 years—always exploring locally procured foods and flavors.
After relocating to Arizona to enjoy retirement, Iris longed to return to the cafeteria and build a farm-to-school nutrition program. She is currently a “Renegade Food Service Manager” at Concordia Charter School, where she puts into practice her passion for delicious, nutritious, locally sourced food for her students.
