Skip to main content

User login

Resources

Free downloadable resources for families, food service professionals, and educators. The collection includes lessons, guides, recipes, essays, tips, studies, tools, and more.

Resources

For Food Service Professionals

What is a California Thursdays Meal? Try this interactive tool and see. Read more	5 Ways to Increase Participation with Customizable Menu Options Providing customizable menu options to increase lunch participation. Read more	Rethinking School Lunch Guide A planning framework for improving school food, supporting sustainable food systems, and teaching and integrating curriculum around food issues. Read more
Celebrating California Food for California Kids A video honoring California's abundance, and supporting children's health, education, and the state's economy. Read more	California Tastes Amazing Recipes, based on popular school meals, that parents and children can cook together at home. Read more	21 School Meals Featuring California Foods Scaled and tested recipes for reimbursable school meals featuring fresh ingredients. Read more
Making the Case for Healthy, Freshly Prepared School Meals Check out our tools for demonstrating the academic, health, environmental, and financial benefits of high-quality, appealing school meals. Read more	Cooking with California Food in K-12 Schools Our acclaimed cookbook and professional development guide by award-winning authors Georgeanne Brennan and Ann M. Evans. Read more	School-Community Kitchens A new partnership for supporting health, academic achievement, and community vitality. Read more
Rethinking School Lunch Oakland Feasibility Study A roadmap for comprehensive reform of nutrition services. Read more	5 Food Service Staff Innovators Serving Freshly-Prepared Meals with Care Celebrating five food service professionals and how they strive to do more for their students. Read more	Wellness Policy Guide A guide to help you review, revise, and update your local wellness policy. Read more

Show More Resources

For Educators

Understanding Food and Climate Change: An Interactive Guide An interactive guide for educators, students, and advocates that explores how food systems and our changing climate interact, and how personal choices can make a difference. Read more	Understanding Food and Climate Change: A Systems Perspective Exploring the links between food systems and our changing climate from a systems thinking perspective. Read more	Food and Culture Project: The World's Flavor Profiles Students in grades 3-5 examine the food traditions that form the basis of different cuisines around the world. Read more
Food and Culture Project: The Migration of Food Lesson for grades 6-8: Students research the origin and migration of ingredients from five different regions of the world. Read more	Make a Mini Greenhouse from a CD Case Use a recycled CD case to make a mini greenhouse and observe seedlings as they develop. Read more	Starting with Soil An iPad app from the Center for Ecoliteracy and Whole Kids Foundation offers a playful, visually rich way to help kids understand that soil is a living system full of fascinating relationships. Read more
The Tomato Salsa Challenge Students in grades 3-5 learn surprising facts about California tomatoes and extend their learning through comparison tasting and a hands-on tomato salsa challenge. Read more	School Lunch Survey Lesson for grades 6-8: Students learn about conducting surveys and presenting recommendations for improving their district's meals. Read more	Savoring California: A Comparative Tasting of California Fruits and Vegetables Lesson for grades 3–5: Students sample different fruit or vegetable varieties, learn about seasons, microclimates, and growing requirements. Read more
Oranges: A Taste of California Sunshine Students in grades 3-5 read about Eliza Tibbets, a California food pioneer, and extend their learning through observation and comparing the tastes of navel oranges to other citruses. Read more	Investigating Cabbage Traditions Students in grades 3-5 examine the cultural importance of cabbages, conduct a comparison tasting of varieties grown in California, and explore related family food traditions. Read more	Students Identify Interactions in the Garden A video showing how third-graders explore interactions among diverse plants and animals in their school garden. Read more
Big Ideas: A New Alignment with Academic Standards Created in partnership with National Geographic, with examples of learning experiences that link food, culture, health, and the environment. Read more	Linking Food, Culture, Health, and the Environment Explore an enriched school environment through this visual guide. Read more

Show More Resources

For Families

5 Things Families Can Do

Five things you can do to learn about school meals.

California Tastes Amazing

California Tastes Amazing

Recipes, based on popular school meals, that parents and children can cook together at home.

Make a Mini Greenhouse at Home from a CD case

Use a recycled CD case at home to make a mini greenhouse and observe seedlings as they develop.

Show More Resources