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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.",{"@graph":14,"@context":73},[15,34,56],{"@type":16,"itemListElement":17},"BreadcrumbList",[18,23,27,31],{"item":19,"name":20,"@type":21,"position":22},"https://docshare.wps.com","Home","ListItem",1,{"item":24,"name":25,"@type":21,"position":26},"https://docshare.wps.com/document/","Document",2,{"item":28,"name":29,"@type":21,"position":30},"https://docshare.wps.com/document/research-report/","Research & Report",3,{"item":32,"name":10,"@type":21,"position":33},"https://docshare.wps.com/document/are-california-public-schools-scratch-cooking-ready-a-survey-of-food-service-directors-on-the-state-of-school-kitchens/582570/",4,{"url":32,"name":10,"@type":35,"image":36,"author":41,"headline":10,"publisher":44,"fileFormat":47,"inLanguage":8,"description":12,"dateModified":48,"datePublished":49,"encodingFormat":47,"isAccessibleForFree":50,"interactionStatistic":51},"DigitalDocument",{"url":37,"@type":38,"width":39,"height":40},"https://docshare.wps.com/thumbnails/are-california-public-schools-scratch-cooking-ready-a-survey-of-food-service-directors-on-the-state-of-school-kitchens/582570.png","ImageObject",300,407,{"name":42,"@type":43},"Mia  ","Person",{"url":19,"name":45,"@type":46},"DocShare","Organization","application/pdf","2026-11-15","2026-10-15",true,{"@type":52,"interactionType":53,"userInteractionCount":55},"InteractionCounter",{"@type":54},"ViewAction",8,{"@type":57,"mainEntity":58},"FAQPage",[59,65,69],{"name":60,"@type":61,"acceptedAnswer":62},"What does the report mean by “scratch-cooking” for school meals?","Question",{"text":63,"@type":64},"Scratch-cooking refers to preparing many or most ingredients onsite from raw and/or minimally processed forms within school food service programs.","Answer",{"name":66,"@type":61,"acceptedAnswer":67},"How was the data collected for this study?",{"text":68,"@type":64},"The study used a web-based survey of food service directors in California public school districts, with 200 directors responding from 200 districts.",{"name":70,"@type":61,"acceptedAnswer":71},"What are the main challenges to expanding scratch cooking?",{"text":72,"@type":64},"Key challenges include having skilled staff and the necessary facilities and equipment to scratch cook.","https://schema.org",{"og:url":32,"og:type":75,"og:title":10,"og:site_name":45,"og:description":12},"article",{"robots":77,"canonical":32},"index,follow",{"doc_id":79,"site_id":7},582570,1792461441,{"code":4,"msg":82,"data":83},"success",[84,88,92,96,101,106,111,114,119,122,126],{"id":22,"doc_module":4,"doc_module_name":25,"category_name":85,"show_sort_weight":86,"slug":87},"Story & Novel",90,"story-novel",{"id":26,"doc_module":4,"doc_module_name":25,"category_name":89,"show_sort_weight":90,"slug":91},"Literature",80,"literature",{"id":33,"doc_module":4,"doc_module_name":25,"category_name":93,"show_sort_weight":94,"slug":95},"Exam",70,"exam",{"id":97,"doc_module":4,"doc_module_name":25,"category_name":98,"show_sort_weight":99,"slug":100},5,"Comic",60,"comic",{"id":102,"doc_module":4,"doc_module_name":25,"category_name":103,"show_sort_weight":104,"slug":105},6,"Technology",50,"technology",{"id":107,"doc_module":4,"doc_module_name":25,"category_name":108,"show_sort_weight":109,"slug":110},7,"Healthcare",40,"healthcare",{"id":55,"doc_module":4,"doc_module_name":25,"category_name":29,"show_sort_weight":112,"slug":113},30,"research-report",{"id":115,"doc_module":4,"doc_module_name":25,"category_name":116,"show_sort_weight":117,"slug":118},9,"Religion & Spirituality",20,"religion-spirituality",{"id":117,"doc_module":4,"doc_module_name":25,"category_name":120,"show_sort_weight":117,"slug":121},"World Cup","world-cup",{"id":123,"doc_module":4,"doc_module_name":25,"category_name":124,"show_sort_weight":123,"slug":125},10,"Lifestyle","lifestyle",{"id":127,"doc_module":4,"doc_module_name":25,"category_name":128,"show_sort_weight":97,"slug":129},19,"General","general",{"code":4,"msg":82,"data":131},{"doc_id":79,"user_id":132,"nickname":42,"user_avatar":133,"doc_module":4,"category_id":55,"category_name":29,"doc_title":10,"doc_description":12,"doc_content":134,"file_id":135,"file_url":136,"file_type":137,"file_size":138,"view_count":55,"is_deleted":4,"is_public":22,"is_downloadable":22,"audit_status":22,"page_count":104,"language":139,"language_code":8,"site_id":7,"html_lang":8,"table_of_contents":140,"faqs":141,"seo_title":142,"seo_description":12,"update_tm":143,"read_time":144,"preview_page_count":4},687207024478,"https://ap-avatar.wpscdn.com/davatar_a8503ba1806abce46bf441b54a3ca4cd","Are California Public Schools Scratch-Cooking Ready?  \nA survey of food service directors on the state of school kitchens  \nIn collaboration with:  \nThis 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:  \nFood | 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.  \nAuthors  \nJeffrey M. Vincent Ariana Gunderson Debbie Friedman Angela McKee Brown Sadie Wilson Vanessa Gomez  \nThought Partners  \nNick Anicich Jennifer LeBarre Judi Shils  \nExternal Reviewers  \nJuliAnna Arnett Jennifer Gaddis Kari Hamerschlag Christina Hecht Nina Ichikawa Beth Katz  \nKaren Luna Jeanne Merrill Lily Riesenfeld Christine Tran Jessica Wright  \nAcknowledgements  \nThe 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.  \nCover image by Anna Ivanova from the Noun Project Vegetable icon by ProSymbols from the Noun Project  \nSuggested Citation  \nVincent, 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.  \n[citiesandschools.berkeley.edu](citiesandschools.berkeley.edu)  \nCopyright 2020 UC Berkeley Center for Cities + Schools  \nCONTENTS  \nOverview and Key Findings 1  \nIntroduction: Scratch Cooking for Healthy School Meals 2  \nAbout Our Survey 5  \nSurvey Findings: The state of kitchen infrastructure in California public schools 6  \nPrevalence of Scratch Cooking 6  \nSchool Kitchen Infrastructure Types 10  \nSchool Kitchen Budgets 12  \nComparing Funding Sources, Expenses, and Scratch Cooking Practices 20  \nDiscussion and Policy Implications 23  \nBOX: How is School Food Funded in California? 26  \nRecommendations 31  \nBOX: What Would it Cost to Make all California Public School Kitchen Facilities  \nScratch Cooking Capable? 34  \nBOX: How Many California Public Schools Serve Organic and/or Pesticide-Free  \nFoods? 39  \nAppendix 1: Survey Methods and Response Rate 41  \nAppendix 2: Policy Reform Ideas 43  \nEndnotes 44  \nOverview and Key Findings  \nOne 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.  \nKey Findings  \n§ Scratch cooking is happening in all types and sizes of public schools in Cal","cbCaifKblyA0rglx","https://ap.wps.com/l/cbCaifKblyA0rglx","pdf",9371442,"English","# Overview and Key Findings\n# Introduction: Scratch Cooking for Healthy School Meals\n# About Our Survey\n# Survey Findings: The state of kitchen infrastructure in California public schools\n## Prevalence of Scratch Cooking\n## School Kitchen Infrastructure Types\n## School Kitchen Budgets\n## Comparing Funding Sources, Expenses, and Scratch Cooking Practices\n# Discussion and Policy Implications\n# Recommendations\n# Appendix 1: Survey Methods and Response Rate\n# Appendix 2: Policy Reform Ideas\n# Endnotes","[{\"question\":\"What does the report mean by “scratch-cooking” for school meals?\",\"answer\":\"Scratch-cooking refers to preparing many or most ingredients onsite from raw and/or minimally processed forms within school food service programs.\"},{\"question\":\"How was the data collected for this study?\",\"answer\":\"The study used a web-based survey of food service directors in California public school districts, with 200 directors responding from 200 districts.\"},{\"question\":\"What are the main challenges to expanding scratch cooking?\",\"answer\":\"Key challenges include having skilled staff and the necessary facilities and equipment to scratch cook.\"}]","Are California Public Schools Scratch-Cooking Ready? - A survey of food service directors on the state of school kitchens | PDF",1792043843,126]