About Us
Get to know the Chef Ann Foundation and why we're on a mission to get schools cooking.
About Us
Get to know the Chef Ann Foundation and why we're on a mission to get schools cooking.
What We Do
We help schools replace ultraprocessed foods with fresh and cooked-from-scratch meals.
Over half a century of underinvesting in school food programs and undervaluing the people who power them has led to a school food system that is dominated by ultraprocessed foods. These foods are linked to a growing range of serious health conditions, and can make it harder for kids to focus in class.
That's why we're working to change the system — from the cafeteria to the Capitol. We help school food teams learn the skills and get resources they need to serve kids freshly made meals that support their health and protect their environment.
What We Do
We help schools replace ultraprocessed foods with fresh and cooked-from-scratch meals.
Over half a century of underinvesting in school food programs and undervaluing the people who power them has led to a school food system that is dominated by ultraprocessed foods. These foods are linked to a growing range of serious health conditions, and can make it harder for kids to focus in class.
That's why we're working to change the system — from the cafeteria to the Capitol. We help school food teams learn the skills and get resources they need to serve kids freshly made meals that support their health and protect their environment.
Today, more than 60% of a typical child’s diet is made up of ultraprocessed food. High in salt, sugars, and artificial additives with limited nutritional value, these foods are linked to lower academic performance and chronic health conditions, including type 2 diabetes, heart disease, and depression and anxiety.
Nearly 30 million students eat school breakfast and or school lunch. That’s more than half of all students enrolled in K-12 public and private schools across the U.S. Given its reach, improving the quality of school food is one of the most effective, yet overlooked, solutions for protecting children’s health.
The foods we eat as kids influence our lifelong eating habits. Improving school food can be one of our most powerful tools to foster positive eating habits and prevent diet-related disease before it starts.
Cooking in schools unlocks other important academic, environmental, and community benefits. This includes better learning outcomes among students, less food waste and carbon emissions, stronger local economies, more and better jobs, and a lifeline for food-insecure households.
Our Impact
Since 2009, we've reached more than 19,000 schools, 35,000 school food professionals, and 5.9 million students with our initiatives to make school food healthier, tastier, and more sustainable.
Our Impact
Since 2009, we've reached more than 19,000 schools, 35,000 school food professionals, and 5.9 million students with our initiatives to make school food healthier, tastier, and more sustainable.
