Why Cooking in Schools Matters
We all want kids to feel and do their best in school. The foods they eat play a critical role in making that happen. But right now, too many kids don’t get the kind of meals they need to succeed.
Why Cooking in Schools Matters
We all want kids to feel and do their best in school. The foods they eat play a critical role in making that happen. But right now, too many kids don’t get the kind of meals they need to succeed.
Our kids are facing a health crisis. Cooking in schools can help end it.
Decades of underinvestment in school meal programs has led schools across the U.S. to rely on convenient yet often unhealthy ultraprocessed foods.
Today, over 60% of a typical child’s diet is made up of ultraprocessed foods. These foods are linked to chronic health conditions including type 2 diabetes, heart disease, anxiety, and depression. They’re also linked to lower academic performance.
Our kids are facing a health crisis. Cooking in schools can help end it.
Decades of underinvestment in school meal programs has led schools across the U.S. to rely on convenient yet often unhealthy ultraprocessed foods.
Today, over 60% of a typical child’s diet is made up of ultraprocessed foods. These foods are linked to chronic health conditions including type 2 diabetes, heart disease, anxiety, and depression. They’re also linked to lower academic performance.
Healthy, scratch-cooked school meals can help all kids soar.
Nearly 30 million children eat school meals five days a week — that’s more than half of all school-aged kids in the U.S. By making sure school meals are healthy and cooked from scratch using real ingredients, we can help tens of millions of kids feel better and succeed in and beyond the classroom.
Healthy, scratch-cooked school meals can help all kids soar.
Nearly 30 million children eat school meals five days a week — that’s more than half of all school-aged kids in the U.S. By making sure school meals are healthy and cooked from scratch using real ingredients, we can help tens of millions of kids feel better and succeed in and beyond the classroom.
Scratch cooking improves student health.
Fresh meals made with real ingredients lower the risk of chronic illnesses, improve mental health and well-being, and support healthy eating habits that last a lifetime.
Scratch cooking helps kids succeed in class.
Scratch-cooked meals improve children’s focus, academic performance, and behavior in class.
Scratch cooking makes school meals more appealing to kids.
Schools can adapt their menus to the tastes and dietary needs of their students. They can also cook dishes that reflect students’ cultures.
. . . make their communities stronger and more prosperous.
Schools with scratch-cooking programs can buy quality ingredients from local farmers, ranchers, fishers, and other producers, strengthening local businesses and keeping dollars in their communities.
. . . protect the environment.
Shifting from prepackaged, ultraprocessed foods to whole ingredients drastically reduces food and packaging waste, cutting back on pollution and lowering carbon emissions.
Schools can also purchase ingredients from farmers who are committed to protecting soil, water, air, and natural ecosystems.
. . . create better jobs.
Cooking healthy, delicious meals for kids can be an incredibly fulfilling career path. It requires comprehensive, commercial-scale culinary skills, as well as the ability to adhere to complex government nutrition standards for school meals.
