The French Toast Stick & the CEO: A Concerned Parent's Journey to National Food Advocacy
March 31, 2026 | By
In honor of Women’s History Month, we interviewed our CEO, Mara Fleishman. Learn how a highly processed French toast stick on her daughter’s lunch tray became the “aha moment” that the school food system is failing children. See how she bridged her innovative business background to lead the Chef Ann Foundation, turning a personal mission into a national movement for systems change.
As a single mom on a really tight budget, my mom cooked all our meals. And part of going to see my dad was going out to eat. So, in addition to the Entenmann’s and stuff, he also exposed me to higher-end cuisine, like French and Vietnamese food, which made me start to really like well-made food.
The big shift came when I was 22 and woke up unable to see out of my left eye. I was diagnosed with uveitis, a rare autoimmune disease. The Western medical approach relied on steroids — cortisone shots and prednisone drops — to decrease inflammation, but the medication wasn’t fixing the underlying issue. I began seeing a naturopath who discussed how diet is connected to autoimmune diseases. I decreased sugar, fat, and alcohol, and increased complex carbs, whole grains, and clean protein. When I saw a change in the level of my autoimmune disease, I became interested in functional medicine and the difference between actually changing the reaction in your body versus covering it up with medication.
As a single mom on a really tight budget, my mom cooked all our meals. And part of going to see my dad was going out to eat. So, in addition to the Entenmann’s and stuff, he also exposed me to higher-end cuisine, like French and Vietnamese food, which made me start to really like well-made food.
The big shift came when I was 22 and woke up unable to see out of my left eye. I was diagnosed with uveitis, a rare autoimmune disease. The Western medical approach relied on steroids — cortisone shots and prednisone drops — to decrease inflammation, but the medication wasn’t fixing the underlying issue. I began seeing a naturopath who discussed how diet is connected to autoimmune diseases. I decreased sugar, fat, and alcohol, and increased complex carbs, whole grains, and clean protein. When I saw a change in the level of my autoimmune disease, I became interested in functional medicine and the difference between actually changing the reaction in your body versus covering it up with medication.
Then I went to school lunch in 2006. This was before the Healthy Hunger-Free Kids Act, so the current dietary regulations weren’t in place; there were no requirements for whole grains, saturated fats, meat or meat alternatives, or fruits and vegetables. As they served one of Lucy’s favorite lunches: a highly processed French toast stick, pears, and syrup (with no maple syrup), I had a massive dumping of an “aha moment.”
I looked around her class, noticing there were far more boys than girls. If you’ve gone through having kids — I have one boy and two girls — or know about the dynamics, boys tend to have more physical energy. I thought: “30 kids, one teacher, a lunch filled with sugar, all trying to learn how to read. The ‘math equation’ is not working.”
It started myopically with, “How is my daughter going to survive this?” and then expanded out to, “What are we doing as a nation? We are handicapping our five- and six-year-olds and working against the teachers by sending kids back to class all jacked up on sugar and learning how to read, and wanting them to achieve high test scores. We were lacking some strategy.”
Then I went to school lunch in 2006. This was before the Healthy Hunger-Free Kids Act, so the current dietary regulations weren’t in place; there were no requirements for whole grains, saturated fats, meat or meat alternatives, or fruits and vegetables. As they served one of Lucy’s favorite lunches: a highly processed French toast stick, pears, and syrup (with no maple syrup), I had a massive dumping of an “aha moment.”
I looked around her class, noticing there were far more boys than girls. If you’ve gone through having kids — I have one boy and two girls — or know about the dynamics, boys tend to have more physical energy. I thought: “30 kids, one teacher, a lunch filled with sugar, all trying to learn how to read. The ‘math equation’ is not working.”
It started myopically with, “How is my daughter going to survive this?” and then expanded out to, “What are we doing as a nation? We are handicapping our five- and six-year-olds and working against the teachers by sending kids back to class all jacked up on sugar and learning how to read, and wanting them to achieve high test scores. We were lacking some strategy.”
Meanwhile, I was working with this group in my community’s district to change our school’s food. At Boulder Valley School District, the food service director at the time repeatedly told the administration that scratch cooking was impossible. No one else in administration had run a food program, unlike everything else done in districts. Usually, superintendents have been principals and know how to operate schools. So if they hear it’s impossible, they believe it. Our parent group knew Ann was running a scratch-cook program at Berkeley Unified, so we raised money to fly her to Boulder to meet with the superintendent to discuss the feasibility.
Ann explained that the first step was an assessment — a core piece of what the Chef Ann Foundation does now — to review equipment, procurement, facilities, recipes, menus, and labor targets. The superintendent was convinced. When the existing food service director struggled to implement the changes, he offered Ann the job.
Meanwhile, I was working with this group in my community’s district to change our school’s food. At Boulder Valley School District, the food service director at the time repeatedly told the administration that scratch cooking was impossible. No one else in administration had run a food program, unlike everything else done in districts. Usually, superintendents have been principals and know how to operate schools. So if they hear it’s impossible, they believe it. Our parent group knew Ann was running a scratch-cook program at Berkeley Unified, so we raised money to fly her to Boulder to meet with the superintendent to discuss the feasibility.
Ann explained that the first step was an assessment — a core piece of what the Chef Ann Foundation does now — to review equipment, procurement, facilities, recipes, menus, and labor targets. The superintendent was convinced. When the existing food service director struggled to implement the changes, he offered Ann the job.
I was determined to prove the value of marketing by showing how it contributed to the final results. When you manage a team whose work feels slightly marginalized, you make sure it’s recognized for its broader impact and financially supported. I made sure my team knew their business numbers and understood grocery margins and departments. I wanted them to understand the business so they could speak with authority to the rest of the company, eliminating the idea that marketing was just “added fluff.”
That experience shaped my perspective on how people contribute and how some roles, often seen as female, are also considered less impactful. I see a direct link to school food workers, who are mostly women. Their job is often not seen as important as that of a math or social studies teacher. This lack of recognition is also reflected in their low pay.
I was determined to prove the value of marketing by showing how it contributed to the final results. When you manage a team whose work feels slightly marginalized, you make sure it’s recognized for its broader impact and financially supported. I made sure my team knew their business numbers and understood grocery margins and departments. I wanted them to understand the business so they could speak with authority to the rest of the company, eliminating the idea that marketing was just “added fluff.”
That experience shaped my perspective on how people contribute and how some roles, often seen as female, are also considered less impactful. I see a direct link to school food workers, who are mostly women. Their job is often not seen as important as that of a math or social studies teacher. This lack of recognition is also reflected in their low pay.
Is there anything I didn’t ask you that you wish I had asked?
Mara: An untold part of my story that connects Ann and me is that I had significant dyslexia growing up and was in special, pull-out classes all the way through middle school. Ann also had dyslexia. And it’s just harder. You have to read what you wrote five times, not twice. We had to focus harder and train harder to achieve what we wanted to achieve. It requires a lot of attention, energy, and determination.
I think it gave us both the understanding that we could do a lot. That uphill climb led both of us to what I call “a warrior space,” where we feel like, “Let’s do it. We can do it!”
Is there anything I didn’t ask you that you wish I had asked?
Mara: An untold part of my story that connects Ann and me is that I had significant dyslexia growing up and was in special, pull-out classes all the way through middle school. Ann also had dyslexia. And it’s just harder. You have to read what you wrote five times, not twice. We had to focus harder and train harder to achieve what we wanted to achieve. It requires a lot of attention, energy, and determination.
I think it gave us both the understanding that we could do a lot. That uphill climb led both of us to what I call “a warrior space,” where we feel like, “Let’s do it. We can do it!”
