Behind the Scenes of Our Fellows’ First Site Visits

Our 24 Healthy School Food Pathway (HSFP) Fellows recently embarked on their year-long journey to become the next generation of scratch-cooked school food leaders. Eager to ditch the traditional heat-and-serve model, each Fellow gained invaluable experience during their first round of visits to premier K-12 scratch-cook meal programs in February. The Fellows were arranged into six groups, each visiting one of the following HSFP Host Districts:

• Boulder Valley School District (Boulder, CO)

• Bridgeton Public Schools (Bridgeton, NJ)

• Cambridge Public Schools (Cambridge, MA)

• Mt. Diablo Unified School District (Concord, CA)

• Staunton City Public Schools (Staunton, VA)

• Vacaville Unified School District (Vacaville, CA)

Over four days, the Fellows observed best practices for operating a successful scratch-cooked school food program, meeting with and shadowing the district food service director, prepping and cooking food, serving meals, and observing the overall operations of the host district. The in-depth knowledge and experience in creating and running successful scratch-cook meal programs will help them to become confident leaders, implementing similar programs in their own communities.

Nearly 2,000 miles away, Fellows Shana Cash, Christina Lawson, Liz Estavilla Valdez, and Richie Wilim kicked off their conversation about local procurement in Boulder Valley School District with a tour of the Culinary Center’s state-of-the-art kitchen and warehouse, where the district stores ingredients used for nearly 14,000 meals each day! Fellows learned how the district uses different methods to store raw proteins, locally grown produce, and more. The Fellows spent the following afternoon planting crops in the district’s greenhouse and discussed how student participation in school gardens can positively impact their willingness to try new fruits and vegetables.

Navigating Labor and Recruitment Challenges

Another goal of the Fellowship is to support school food professionals as they expand their networks and connect with like-minded peers who are interested in transforming school food. During their site visits, Fellows had the opportunity to discuss how they’re handling common challenges, including recruitment hurdles and hesitancy among their departments as they move toward a scratch-cook model. While navigating these challenges isn’t easy, hearing advice from other school food professionals who have undertaken scratch cooking at their schools provides a sense of community.

Fellows also had the opportunity to gain insight into their host districts’ daily operations, activities, and meetings. At Bridgeton Public Schools, Fellows Kelsey Berrini, Randal Lane, Juan Lopez, and Nick Vedia each shadowed a chef during separate lunch services across the district. Later on, the Fellows regrouped to observe a Food Services Department’s team meeting and dinner service. While visiting Staunton City Schools, Fellows Josie Perez, Kelli Seidel, Renee Swank, and Iris Tirado, met with the district’s manager, school budget director, and human resources director to gain a deeper understanding of the district’s operations.

Conclusion

We’d like to thank the school food directors and teams at our six HSFP Host Sites for turning their school food programs into welcoming, interactive classrooms for our Fellows! Thanks to their support, the Fellows gained comprehensive knowledge and experience to support them in their scratch cooking journey. The HSFP Fellowship will not only help these Fellows incorporate more scratch-cooked school food into their meal program but will also help them contribute to a more equitable food system. This program is made possible by our founding partners Whole Kids Foundation and the state of CA.

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