Our Story

Our story began when Chef Ann had a vision to create an organization that helps schools take action so that every child has daily access to fresh, healthy food. Today, the Chef Ann Foundation (CAF) carries out that vision by actively supporting school districts nationwide through grant programs and by providing tried and tested tools for school food change. Our major programs include:
- The Lunch Box: An online resource that provides free step-by-step guides, tools, and recipes to help schools improve their food programs.
- Salad Bars to Schools (SB2S): A grant program that helps schools expand their commitment to serving fresh fruits and vegetables by implementing salad bars as part of their daily meal programs.
- Project Produce: CAF has teamed up with Skoop, a superfoods company, for this grant program, which help schools increase kids’ access to fresh fruits and veggies and nutrition education.
- Get Schools Cooking (GSC): A grant program launched in partnership with Whole Kids Foundation that provides in depth technical assistance, on-site assessments, and workshops to help school districts create and implement a custom plan for change.
- Parent Advocacy Initiative (PAI): A program funded by the Whole Kids Foundation that provides parents with tools and resources to lead grassroots advocacy efforts in their school districts.
“One in three children born today will have diabetes in their lifetime…This is the social justice issue of our time. Every child deserves fresh, healthy food.” –Chef Ann Cooper
Milestones
2008
- The W.K. Kellogg Foundation funds a planning grant for The Lunch Box concept with the support of Chez Panisse Foundation.
2009
- The Lunch Box test site launches.
- Ann founds Food Family Farming Foundation (F3).
- Whole Foods Market shoppers raise funds through the “Whole Foods Market School Food Revolution Campaign” to support the design and construction of an official website for The Lunch Box.
2010
- F3 launches official website for The Lunch Box.
- Whole Foods Market customers donate over $1.4 million to the “Great American Salad Bar Project.” The generous contribution funds salad bars for 564 schools across the U.S.
- Let’s Move Salad Bars to Schools (LMSB2S) is founded by the Food Farming Foundation (now the Chef Ann Foundation), National Fruit and Vegetable Alliance, United Fresh Produce Association Foundation, and Whole Foods Market in support of First Lady Michelle Obama’s Let’s Move! Initiative.
2011
- LMSB2S grants 516 salad bars to schools, which provides 540,000 kids with daily access to fresh fruits and vegetables.
- F3 launches Healthy Breakfast for Kids (HB4K).
- The Lunch Box adds over 20 new tutorial videos throughout the website for food service directors and staff.
2012
- LMSB2S grants 548 salad bars to schools, for an all-time total of 1,628 bars, reaching a grand total of 814,000 kids.
- HBFK helps 47,717 students gain access to breakfast by providing 117 schools across the nation with equipment grants to implement universal, after-the-bell breakfast programs.
- The Lunch Box is featured by Rachael Ray’s Yumo! Foundation and Forbes Magazine online.
- IACP Humanitarian of the Year Award presented to Chef Ann for her work in school food reform.
2013
- LMSB2S grants an additional 1,209 salad bars to schools, reaching 604,500 kids.
- CAF receives over $500,000 from The Colorado Health Foundation and Newman’s Own Foundation to expand and update The Lunch Box website.
- CAF receives Whole Kids Foundation recipe grant to fund the development of 50 kid-tested recipes for The Lunch Box; recipes will be compliant with the most current USDA nutrition standards.
- CAF creates a three-year strategic plan to determine the pathways to school food improvements nationwide.
2014
- Let’s Move Salad Bars to Schools launches a new website.
- CAF and The Lunch Box both launch new websites with enhanced content and resources.
- CAF teams up with Skoop—a superfoods company committed to bringing the health benefits of superfoods to every American—to launch Project Produce: Fruit and Veggie Grants for Schools.
- The Parent Advocacy Initiative (PAI) is created with support from the Whole Kids Foundation to provide parents with tools and resources to lead grassroots advocacy efforts in their school districts.
2015
- CAF teams up with Whole Kids Foundation to launch Get Schools Cooking, a deep dive program into school food reform that provides workshops, assessments, strategic planning and equipment grants to participating school districts.
2015 Annual Report
We're very proud of our first ever Annual Report, and all the program successes we share inside! See what we were up to in 2015 here.
Talking About School Food with Chef Ann
Chef Ann Cooper and other notable school food reform advocates discuss the importance of healthy school food for kids.