Redesigning a School-Based Food System

Our fresh food access work grew out of the gardens themselves. As school garden spaces saw more use, and as some of our school farms began producing real abundance, we looked for ways to get that food to families. Over the years it's taken many forms, including large-scale produce and meal delivery during the pandemic, CSA-style produce boxes sold at school sites, and after school produce stands.

All of these fresh food programs have been building toward our most ambitious vision of a comprehensive farm-to-school food system. This year, we're partnering with West Contra Costa Unified's Food Services department to do exactly that: incorporate campus-grown produce, culinary job-training, and farm-fresh ingredients in scratch-cooked cafeteria meals.

It cuts against the grain. In large districts, procurement systems and kitchen infrastructure push Food Services toward heavily processed, pre-packaged products from giant distributors. Cafeterias can't serve fresh food, even when kids and parents want it. We build every piece of a complete food system at a school-by-school scale, which makes farm-to-table practical for the district.

School-based farming

In 2021, our School-Based Farming initiative launched at Betty Reid Soskin Middle School, where farmer Oscar Cervantes worked with students to turn an unused baseball field into a one-acre farm. Four years later, with major support from CDFA's Farm to School program, we run one-to-two-acre farms at three WCCUSD schools, supplying produce for scratch-cooked meals in their cafeterias.

Farm-to-table apprenticeships

In their career technical education classes, middle and high school students design menus, grow and harvest crops, and work alongside cafeteria staff to prepare the day's lunch, mentored by our culinary teachers. When students help plan, cook, and serve meals made from food they grew, the school lunch experience changes completely: better participation, more revenue for food services, and kids who actually want to eat fresh.

The model elevates the quality of school meals through ultra-fresh produce while dramatically simplifying the food services supply chain. Rather than coordinating with multiple local farms, the district can source high-quality produce directly from campus, where student farmers work closely with food services staff.