Are California Public Schools Scratch-Cooking Ready? - A survey of food service directors on the state of school kitchens

Oct 15, 2026

Uploaded by Mia

Explores whether California public school kitchens are equipped to support healthier scratch-cooking meals, using a web-based survey of food service directors across 200 districts (two hundred directors responding). Defines scratch-cooking readiness by focusing on infrastructure needs for receiving, storing, and preparing minimally processed foods. Presents key findings on prevalence, staffing and equipment constraints, funding sources, and disparities tied to rural status, race, and income, concluding with estimated statewide investment needs and policy recommendations.

LanguageEnglish

CategoryResearch & Report

FormatPDF

Pages50

Reading Time2 h 6 min

AccessFree to download

Overview and Key Findings

Introduction: Scratch Cooking for Healthy School Meals

About Our Survey

Survey Findings: The state of kitchen infrastructure in California public schools

Prevalence of Scratch Cooking

School Kitchen Infrastructure Types

School Kitchen Budgets

Comparing Funding Sources, Expenses, and Scratch Cooking Practices

Discussion and Policy Implications

Recommendations

Appendix 1: Survey Methods and Response Rate

Appendix 2: Policy Reform Ideas

Endnotes

Are California Public Schools Scratch-Cooking Ready? A survey of food service directors on the state of school kitchens In collaboration with: This study was conducted by UC Berkeley’s Center for Cities + Schools in collaboration with Conscious Kitchen and The Edible Schoolyard Project. Contributing thought partners included: Food | Climate | Strategies, California Farm to School Program, San Francisco Unified School District, Friends of the Earth, Natural Resources Defense Council, Community Alliance with Family Farmers, Center for Ecoliteracy, Food Insight Group, and Nutrition Policy Institute. Authors Jeffrey M. Vincent Ariana Gunderson Debbie Friedman Angela McKee Brown Sadie Wilson Vanessa Gomez Thought Partners Nick Anicich Jennifer LeBarre Judi Shils External Reviewers JuliAnna Arnett Jennifer Gaddis Kari Hamerschlag Christina Hecht Nina Ichikawa Beth Katz Karen Luna Jeanne Merrill Lily Riesenfeld Christine Tran Jessica Wright Acknowledgements The authors wish to express our gratitude to the California school district food service directors who responded to our survey and provided insight on their food service programs, their kitchens, as well as their aspirations to improve their operations. We also thank the food service directors, researchers, and advocates from around the country who spoke with us and helped shape our survey and analysis of results. Lastly, we are indebted to the numerous reviewers who read early drafts of this report and provided helpful suggestions for improvement. Any errors herein are the responsibility of the authors. Cover image by Anna Ivanova from the Noun Project Vegetable icon by ProSymbols from the Noun Project Suggested Citation Vincent, Jeffrey M. , Ariana Gunderson, Debbie Friedman, Angela McKee Brown, Sadie Wilson, and Vanessa Gomez. 2020. Are California Public Schools Scratch-Cooking Ready? A survey of food service directors on the state of school kitchens. Berkeley: Center for Cities + Schools, University of CaliforniaBerkeley. [citiesandschools.berkeley.edu](citiesandschools.berkeley.edu) Copyright 2020 UC Berkeley Center for Cities + Schools CONTENTS Overview and Key Findings 1 Introduction: Scratch Cooking for Healthy School Meals 2 About Our Survey 5 Survey Findings: The state of kitchen infrastructure in California public schools 6 Prevalence of Scratch Cooking 6 School Kitchen Infrastructure Types 10 School Kitchen Budgets 12 Comparing Funding Sources, Expenses, and Scratch Cooking Practices 20 Discussion and Policy Implications 23 BOX: How is School Food Funded in California? 26 Recommendations 31 BOX: What Would it Cost to Make all California Public School Kitchen Facilities Scratch Cooking Capable? 34 BOX: How Many California Public Schools Serve Organic and/or Pesticide-Free Foods? 39 Appendix 1: Survey Methods and Response Rate 41 Appendix 2: Policy Reform Ideas 43 Endnotes 44 Overview and Key Findings One way to serve healthier school meals is by incorporating “scratch-cooking” techniques, whereby many or most of the ingredients are prepared onsite from a raw and/or minimally processed form, into school food service programs. However, the vast majority of public school kitchens across the U.S. and in California are not designed and/or equipped to scratch cook. Raw and/or unprocessed food ingredients have shorter shelf lives and fewer added preservatives, thus requiring specialized kitchen infrastructure and equipment for receiving, storing, and preparing. To understand the opportunities and challenges to increasing healthy school meals across California, this study investigates the scratch-cooking readiness of the state’s public schools’ kitchens. We conducted a web-based survey of food service directors in California public school districts. Two hundred directors from 200 school districts responded. Key Findings § Scratch cooking is happening in all types and sizes of public schools in Cal

FAQs

What does the report mean by “scratch-cooking” for school meals?

Scratch-cooking refers to preparing many or most ingredients onsite from raw and/or minimally processed forms within school food service programs.

How was the data collected for this study?

The study used a web-based survey of food service directors in California public school districts, with 200 directors responding from 200 districts.

What are the main challenges to expanding scratch cooking?

Key challenges include having skilled staff and the necessary facilities and equipment to scratch cook.

Oct 15, 2026

Uploaded by Mia