Workshop

Districts attend a two-day workshop where they will:

• Receive a detailed overview of the Get Schools Program, including its history and expectations for participating in the program
• Review foundational strategies for successful school food reform through sessions such as recipe development, the importance of financial tracking, and how to support staff to create change
• Tour a partner district’s school food operation to discuss what it is like working with the Chef Ann Foundation and to see a scratch-cooking program in action

School Food Institute Courses

Districts receive two Gold Certificates to Chef Ann Foundation’s virtual School Food Institute. Each Gold Certificate represents 8 courses, selected from the 11 available courses, including School Food Procurement, Recipes & Menu Development, Salad Bars in Schools, and more. Each course is self-paced and meets USDA professional standards learning objectives.

On-Site Assessment

Chef Ann Foundation’s school food experts observe and assess all aspects a district’s current school food practices and collect data to provide recommended actions to improve five key areas of school food operations:

• Food including procurement, commodities, recipe, and menu development;
• Finance including budget development, meal counts, and eligibility processing;
• Facilities including salad bars, cooking equipment, and service equipment;
• Human resources including job descriptions, professional development, and staffing structure; and
• Marketing including communications with students and parents, social media presences, website presence, and branding.

Assessment Report

After completing their on-site assessment, districts receive a report that includes recommendations for next steps. The report also serves as a guide for working with school leadership and the school community.

Chef Ann Foundation’s research partners will also conduct a baseline procurement assessment, and provide a baseline score of the healthfulness of the school meals currently being served. 

Strategic Planning

Chef Ann Foundation’s school food experts provide district leaders a strategic plan to review the recommendations from the assessment report and the actions the district would need to take to start or expand its scratch cooking operations.

Technical Assistance

The Chef Ann Foundation will provide districts both on-site and one-on-one virtual technical assistance support in the areas identified in the assessment report. Areas include, but are not limited to: culinary skills, kitchen efficiency, budget development, staffing planning, recipe development, and/or marketing. Past districts have used additional technical assistance to:

• eliminate flavored milk from their menus;
• accurately update their financial tracking tools; and
• develop new recipes and kitchen efficiencies.

Connect and Reflect

We host peer-to-peer support sessions that offer space for districts to discuss current school food topics, share information, and learn what other districts are doing across Get Schools Cooking cohorts.

Systems Assistance Grant

Districts have the opportunity to apply for a one-time systems assistance grant that is designed to support the identified needs and goals of their program. This grant has been used by past participants to:

• purchase kitchen equipment used to prepare scratch cooked meals;
• implement salad bars that support the consumption of a wide variety of fresh fruits and vegetables;
• purchase software that allows districts to track inventory, manage production records, and incorporate new recipes; and
• train staff on recipe development and testing.

Evaluations

Districts participate in ongoing qualitative interviews and submit current program data to measure their progress starting or expanding their scratch cooking operations. The Chef Ann Foundation and its research partners complete a comprehensive evaluation of change management and generate a follow-up procurement assessment to gauge the connection between scratch cooking and value-based procurement.