Kids’ opinions matter. Not only are they your primary customers, they can help you create a meal program that works. Over the years, I have learned that students will tell you exactly what they want. Kids need to be given — early and often — the...
To anyone who is looking to make their cafeteria food healthier: You can’t change your school’s menu without changing your leadership strategy, too. Folks will often try, with the best intentions, to serve healthier meal options without engaging students or their target customers first. And without...
When schools, hospitals and other community institutions cook nutritious food from scratch, they change our food system as we know it. Schools impart lifelong healthy eating habits onto children. Patients eat nutrient-dense foods cooked with care. Everyone wins. But often, I hear institutional leaders say that...
Last month, I tackled an important myth about local, scratch-cooked food — that making it costs more money (it doesn’t). Today, I’d like to address another myth — that preparing this kind of food requires more time and more labor. Again, this just isn’t true. In reality,...
Better Food at a Better Price. Fresh, locally sourced food is great for us and important to our environment — but a myth persists that it’s expensive to produce. This just isn't the case. Truthfully, waste is the real expense in institutional food production. By reducing and in...
Students need proper nourishment to learn. Recently, a teacher shared her wish list for the school food program. She asked if sugar could be eliminated from the breakfast menu. Her students start their day bouncing off the walls and lack focus. The principle echoed the sentiment...
You already have the money and time to cook delicious, nutritious food from scratch. I’ll explain in a moment. First, stand in your cafeteria one day and watch the garbage can fill up with food students throw out. Notice the amount of food left in...
Roasted cauliflower with vegan gravy? Skeptical, Christine, keeps a napkin close at hand just in case she needs to discretely expel the contents from her mouth. Christine doesn’t like cauliflower, but is participating in a taste test for the new healthy hospital cafeteria program where...
Nine excited hospital staff members at Samuel Mahelona Medical Center in Hawaii feasted on burgers, vegetables, and brownies. A seemingly typical meal. Yet, far from ordinary. This group of people were taste testing new vegan recipes for a sustainable food initiative at the hospital. The burger...
We hear from principals who want their students to like the cafeteria food. Business managers want costs controlled. Company leaders desire higher quality ingredients within their existing budget. Parents expect their kids to eat healthier. Board members ask for local food on the menus. The solutions...