All SLO County students get free lunches under new program. See what they’re eating
Bouncing around and eagerly gabbing with their friends, dozens of kindergarten students line up for lunch at Lillian Larsen Elementary School in San Miguel.
The kids are barely able to see over the counter as they hold out their trays to receive big scoops of pasta. “¿Quieres queso y pan?” a server asks in Spanish, inquiring if the students want a sprinkle of cheese and a small bread roll.
After they sit down, the kids chow down on spaghetti, made from whole grain grown in Shandon that students at the school helped to harvest and mill. There are also fresh fruits and veggies, mostly from farms on the Central Coast.
When lunch is over, some kids shove bits of food into their mouths as they leave the cafeteria, not wanting to leave a bite behind.
The best part? None of the Lillian Larsen Elementary students have to pay for their meals, thanks to a new universal free lunch program sponsored by the state.
The California Department of Education’s California Universal Meals Program follows two years of free school lunches that were funded by the federal government in response to the COVID-19 pandemic.
Breakfast is also served for free at schools as mandated by the state program.
California’s free lunch program was the first in the nation, although other states have since followed suit.
“School food can be cool and exciting,” said Lauren Thomas, the food services director at San Miguel Joint Union School District. “It doesn’t have to be just the stigma of ‘This is only for the kids that can’t afford to bring their own lunches.’ ”
School meals came under greater scrutiny during the early days of the COVID-19 pandemic, when schools shifted to remote, online learning. Suddenly, food for students was no longer being served in the cafeteria — but being sent home instead, where parents could take a closer look at the menu.
Such attention has helped local food services directors to redouble their efforts to provide food for students that is fresher, healthier and tastier. Now, they’re able to offer those meals at no cost to families.
Meals served at some school cafeterias these days include dahl with locally sourced red lentils, burgers made with Hearst Ranch beef, vegan bean and cheese burritos, and tamales.
Food services directors hope that good food means that more students will sign up for the free meals, which means more funding from federal and state governments.
Local schools gets a higher reimbursement from the government for each free lunch when compared to reduced-priced or paid meals.
“We actually get more funding per kiddo, because we all get paid at the free rates,” said Laurel Goins, director of food services at Lucia Mar Unified School District. “So we have received a huge jump up in our budget here, which has allowed us to do things like replace a bunch of equipment that we’ve been holding on to since God was a child.”
School lunch programs aren’t out to make a profit, however.
“My goal is to break even,” San Luis Coastal Unified School District Food Services Director Erin Primer said, adding that she aims to spend every dime in her annual budget to ensure students are served the best food possible by well-paid staff.
“If I’m cutting corners, what do I have to show for it?” she asked.
In San Luis Obispo County, school districts have come together to source meat, eggs, bakery items and fresh fruits and veggies from farms and other businesses along the Central Coast.
District lunch services directors have largely banded together to increase their buying power and ensure local farms can sustainably send their food to the schools.
If smaller farms only grow small amounts of a crop, school districts shop in small batches to provide options such as a “veggie of the day,” Primer explained.
School districts in the county don’t typically go to “one-stop shops” such as U.S. Foods or Sysco for their ingredients. Instead, they are sourcing from several different local farms, ranches, bakeries and other smaller food providers.
Beef from Hearst Ranch in San Simeon, cheese from Cal Poly in San Luis Obispo, root vegetables from Bautista Family Farms in Arroyo Grande and eggs from Rosemary Farm in Santa Maria are among the ingredients featured on students’ plates each day.
School districts are not like restaurants in that they don’t compete for customers. So the county’s food services directors meet and share recipes, ingredients and tips to ensure students are eating well every day.
New funding from the state in the form of Kitchen Infrastructure and Training Funds, or KIT funds, has given school districts’ services programs another boost.
Each school district in San Luis Obispo County has received KIT funds, totaling nearly $444,000. Food services directors said they’re using the infrastructure money to replace old dishwashers, ovens and leaky sinks, and even do full kitchen remodels.
The training funds are being used to send kitchen staff to culinary classes, or access online programs to learn new tips and tricks for creating healthy meals that young kids will eat.
“The funding opportunities are amazing, I’m able to do more ... and just be able to serve them even better,” Thomas said. “And the way California is funding this is saying, ‘We’re prioritizing school meals. They’re an important part of education and they can really support the local economy.’ ”
This story was originally published August 25, 2022 at 5:00 AM.
