The Chef Ann Foundation is excited to welcome Leslie Stafford to the team as our new Director of Accounting and Human Resources. As CEO Mara Fleishman puts it, Leslie is a “dream team member” to support our mission of healthier school food. Over her 20-year span working in Boulder Valley School...Read more

 Donate to the Chef Ann FoundationI have always been a healthy eater — lots of leafy greens, limited meats with high amounts of saturated fat, sugar in moderation (except for my annual chocolate, caramel, and sea salt Whole Foods birthday cake which I eat straight from the box)....Read more

By: Laura Smith, Programs and Grants Coordinator for Boulder Valley School DistrictLast fall, BVSD underwent a full-scale audit by a Registered Dietitian at the US. Healthful Foods Council (USHFC). Requesting information about supply chain operations, meal ingredients, health promotion, and nutrition education programs—the audit delved into a wide variety of...Read more

One of my favorite farmers, Joel Salatin often says if we want to save agriculture and the health of our country then we need to “find our kitchens” again.  I’d like to take that thought one step further and say that if we want to save our children’s health, then...Read more

It’s just before 11:00 a.m. on a snowy spring Friday in Boulder, Colorado when Boulder High School’s first lunch bell rings. Within seconds, students are pouring out the front doors headed towards the delicious smells and lively music coming from the eye-catching Munchie Machine, the Boulder Valley School...Read more

The Boulder Valley School District in Colorado, where I am director of food services, is building a central kitchen, which will eventually cook upwards of 20,000 meals per day for our students, faculty and staff. These scratch-cooked meals will be made from fresh whole ingredients, with a priority on locally sourced...Read more

One-cup teamwork, ½ cup competition, 2 cups of fun and a pinch of creativity are the key ingredients in a school Junior Chef Competition. Stir them together and what is the result? Happy young culinarians and delicious new school food dishes made by kids, for kids. Junior Chef (or...Read more

USDA Farm to School has funded 221 farm to school projects totaling $15.1 million since 2013. In their recent report that summarizes the grant activity since 2013 it is clear that farm to school has moved well beyond sourcing the local apple and is enriching the...Read more

The first day of school varies across the country. In San Francisco, students hung up their swimsuits and shouldered their backpacks to greet their new teachers on August 17th. In New York City, summer didn’t end until September 9th. No matter the date, the first day of school in every...Read more

Recent research has highlighted the fact that early childhood education increases students’ success rates, so it’s not surprising that more school districts are adding preschool as an assumed grade level in their academic model as well as their construction plans. In Boulder Valley School District (BVSD), one of the...Read more

Five years ago, Amelia Anderson and Marley Santos were Kindergarteners starting out at their new school, Foothill Elementary in Boulder, Colorado. Foothill was one of the first schools to receive a salad bar from Let’s Move Salad Bars to Schools.  Now in 5th grade, Amelia and Marley have...Read more

This is a debatable question for sure; one that I used to think was a no-brainer. Yes, if parents are loud enough and demanding enough then eventually it  will happen, but that is not the most efficient or pleasant process for either side. The problem is that changing a school...Read more

Sunny Young, Program Director for Good Food for Oxford Schools and founder of Edufood Consulting LLC, a school food reform consulting firm, can honestly say she learned from one of the best in her field. A Food Family Farming alum, Young began her journey in school lunch reform in 2009 alongside our own...Read more

In this article from The Huffington Post, author Danielle Nierenberg discusses how chefs are now seen as arbiters of change--they can introduce their patrons to local farms, local ingredients and fresh, sustainable food. Nierenberg notes that Chef Ann has been changing the menus at schools and has been successful in...Read more

In this article from the USDA Food and Nutrition Service, author Tony Craddock, Jr. describes Chef Ann as a true renegade, tirelessly advocating for healthy food in schools and making real change in school districts. She has over 30 years of culinary experience and is a graduate of the...Read more