Feeding Equity | Why School Food Matters!

There’s no denying that the pandemic has been extremely challenging for school food programs. School food professionals have not stopped serving since the onset and have constantly had to adapt and pivot to the changing times. They have been on the frontlines of feeding children with COVID cases on the rise. But, finally, for the first time, they were also being recognized as heroes for their efforts to continuously serve nutritious food to our nation’s kids.

Not only were school food professionals gaining the recognition they deserved, but also making some astonishing progress. Some of the positives that came out of the pandemic include bulk- meal packs, increased local procurement, improved marketing efforts, and better quality meals. All of this progress likely would not have taken place if it weren’t for the pandemic. It turns out that there was a silver lining after such a challenging year.

We connected with Chef Brandy Dreibelbis, Director of School Food Operations at the Chef Ann Foundation and former Director of Food Services at Napa Valley Unified School District, about her knowledge on how the pandemic has created some major shifts in school food for the better. Click here to read the full blog and learn how this newfound knowledge could be a beneficial milestone in the road to school food reform.