San Diego Unified School District is a leader in Farm to School efforts in the nation. SDUSD’s Farm to School programming started in 2010 with three goals in mind. The first is local procurement, meaning we make our best efforts to serve food from locally sourced farms and companies. SDUSD participates in Harvest of the Month, providing fresh, seasonal, and local produce to students through salad bars every Wednesday. SDUSD also believes in and participates in the “California Food for California Kids” campaign through the Center of Ecoliteracy wherein school meals are sourced entirely from CA. The second goal is around the impact of nutrition education. Delicious and nutritious meal choices go hand in hand with the student education, as well as faculty and parent education as well. Lastly, SDUSD believes in supporting our school gardens. School gardens are offered variety of programs including the Garden to Cafe program, which allows school garden grown produce to be served in the cafeteria salad bar, or the Youth Garden Stand program, which allows students to sell their school grown produce back to their community.

FoodCorps Service Members in San Diego are placed at one or two elementary schools where they run education programs that can be modeled throughout the full school district, enhance the potential of school gardens to get more student grown produce served at lunch time, and support Harvest of the Month and locally procured meal options at the cafeteria and individual student level. FoodCorps Service Members are supported through a dedicated Farm to School Specialist and Food Services department, as well as at the school level by the administrative, faculty, student, and parent communities.

Service in California connects you to a legacy and future of innovative Farm to School programming, vibrant school communities, and equitable access to nourishing school meals. FoodCorps California Service Members are part of a 34-person cohort serving in communities across the state. California service members are important members of the school and district community, lead nutrition and garden lessons, promote social and emotional wellness, and support initiatives such as School Meals For All, California Thursdays/California Food for California Kids, and Harvest of the Month programs by running taste tests, supporting meal programs, and making mealtime an educational and socially fulfilling time.