School food has become increasingly more processed and less healthy. With the right knowledge and tools, schools can transform their kitchens and lunchrooms to support student health, wellbeing, and academic success.

Visit Overview
About Chef Ann Foundation
FAQ

Recipes and menus are the heart of school food change. These recipes have been developed by school food professionals, kid-tested, and perfected in school kitchens. 
 

Visit Overview
What is Scratch Cooking?
Recipes
Raw Animal Proteins
Menu Development
Menu Cycles
Menu Templates

Management is a general term for: fiscal management, human resources, facilities, assessment, and wellness policies. In order for a district’s food service department to be successful, the director has to be adept in a vast array of subjects.

Visit Overview
Roadmap for the School Year
Fiscal Management
Emergency Resources
Human Resources
Staff Appreciation
Professional Development
Training Videos
School Food Institute
Healthy School Food Pathway
Central Kitchens
Facilities
HACCP
Assessment & Next Steps
Wellness Policy & Smart Snacks
Local Wellness Policy
Smart Snacks in Schools
Tools & Resources
SOPs

Procurement is one of the most complex processes within food service departments. In the event of shifting a program from using processed, ready-to-heat foods to scratch cooked recipes, many processes change.

Visit Overview
Getting Started
The K-12 Food System
Values-Aligned Procurement
Examples of Values-Aligned Procurement
Tools & Resources

Marketing in food service ranges from finding local sponsors, to creating a brand and promotional materials, to engaging students in cooking and menu design.

Visit Overview
Branding Your Program
District Communications
Social Media Toolkit
Partnerships
Posters & Signs

Lunchroom education activities engage students with food-focused learning opportunities. Explore the wide world of fun food programs!

Visit Overview
Tastings
Rainbow Days
Art Contests
Chef Demonstrations
Junior Chef Competitions
Farm to School
Volunteers & Interns

This section is dedicated to the “Big Ideas” - areas we think make a huge impact and will play a large role in the future of school food.

Visit Overview
Salad Bars
Best Practices
Assessment & Planning
Recipes & Layouts
Training & Operations
Tools & Resources
School Breakfast
Getting Started
Operations
Menu Development
Marketing
Tools & Resources
Sustainable Lunchrooms
Plant Forward
Plant Forward Recipes
Case Study
Waste Reduction
Tools & Resources

Our grants and programs help schools serve students fresher, healthier, and tastier meals.

Visit Overview
Get Schools Cooking
Salad Bars to Schools
Healthy School Food Pathway
Values-Aligned Purchasing Collectives
Starting From Scratch
Bulk Milk
Application Portal
Grant Writing & Management
Chef Ann Foundation
School Food Institute
Blog
Chef Ann Foundation
School Food Institute
Blog

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Why Scratch Cooking?

School food has become increasingly more processed and less healthy. With the right knowledge and tools, schools can transform their kitchens and lunchrooms to support student health, wellbeing, and academic success.

Visit Overview
About Chef Ann Foundation
FAQ

Recipes & Menus

Recipes and menus are the heart of school food change. These recipes have been developed by school food professionals, kid-tested, and perfected in school kitchens. 
 

Visit Overview
What is Scratch Cooking?
Recipes
Raw Animal Proteins
Menu Development
Menu Cycles
Menu Templates

Management

Management is a general term for: fiscal management, human resources, facilities, assessment, and wellness policies. In order for a district’s food service department to be successful, the director has to be adept in a vast array of subjects.

Visit Overview
Roadmap for the School Year
Fiscal Management
Emergency Resources
Human Resources
Staff Appreciation
Professional Development
Training Videos
School Food Institute
Healthy School Food Pathway
Central Kitchens
Facilities
HACCP
Assessment & Next Steps
Wellness Policy & Smart Snacks
Local Wellness Policy
Smart Snacks in Schools
Tools & Resources
SOPs

Procurement

Procurement is one of the most complex processes within food service departments. In the event of shifting a program from using processed, ready-to-heat foods to scratch cooked recipes, many processes change.

Visit Overview
Getting Started
The K-12 Food System
Values-Aligned Procurement
Examples of Values-Aligned Procurement
Tools & Resources

Marketing

Marketing in food service ranges from finding local sponsors, to creating a brand and promotional materials, to engaging students in cooking and menu design.

Visit Overview
Branding Your Program
District Communications
Social Media Toolkit
Partnerships
Posters & Signs

Lunchroom Education

Lunchroom education activities engage students with food-focused learning opportunities. Explore the wide world of fun food programs!

Visit Overview
Tastings
Rainbow Days
Art Contests
Chef Demonstrations
Junior Chef Competitions
Farm to School
Volunteers & Interns

Fresh Food Initiatives

This section is dedicated to the “Big Ideas” - areas we think make a huge impact and will play a large role in the future of school food.

Visit Overview
Salad Bars
Best Practices
Assessment & Planning
Recipes & Layouts
Training & Operations
Tools & Resources
School Breakfast
Getting Started
Operations
Menu Development
Marketing
Tools & Resources
Sustainable Lunchrooms
Plant Forward
Plant Forward Recipes
Case Study
Waste Reduction
Tools & Resources

Apply for a Grant or Program

Our grants and programs help schools serve students fresher, healthier, and tastier meals.

Visit Overview
Get Schools Cooking
Salad Bars to Schools
Healthy School Food Pathway
Values-Aligned Purchasing Collectives
Starting From Scratch
Bulk Milk
Application Portal
Grant Writing & Management
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Effects of Offering Look-Alike Products as Smart Snacks in Schools

December 1, 2016

This study, published in Childhood Obesity and conducted by The Rudd Center for Food Policy and Obesity, addresses the effect that selling “copy-cat snacks” in schools has on children. These look-alike products are highly processed foods which bear all the same logos and brand names as their supermarket or restaurant counterparts, but they have been nutritionally tweaked to comply with the USDA’s “Smart Snacks” nutrition standards.

View Study

Effects of Offering Look-Alike Products as Smart Snacks in Schools

December 1, 2016

This study, published in Childhood Obesity and conducted by The Rudd Center for Food Policy and Obesity, addresses the effect that selling “copy-cat snacks” in schools has on children. These look-alike products are highly processed foods which bear all the same logos and brand names as their supermarket or restaurant counterparts, but they have been nutritionally tweaked to comply with the USDA’s “Smart Snacks” nutrition standards.

View Study

The study involved an online experiment with 659 students aged 13 to 17 and 859 parents of children aged 10 to 13 and found this copy-cat practice to be misleading to consumers. "Kids think the healthier Smart Snacks they can buy in school are the same products that are sold in stores," says Jennifer Harris, lead author of the study and director of marketing initiatives for the UConn Rudd Center. "It's confusing because the packaging for these look-alike Smart Snacks looks so much like the less nutritious versions that kids see advertised on TV and in the stores.

View Study

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