4 ms·

Plenty of schools in the US have kitchens and cook their foods from scratch...

Stefan-H 2y ago
Source? My Suburban school district primarily heated up foods from Sysco.
FactolSarin 2y ago
Many still have the kitchens, but the two in my hometown rarely cook from scratch anymore. I live in a small 5k person town in North Carolina, and recently got involved with the school PTO. And the cafeteria is basically just heating up premade meals these days.
- johnisgood 2y ago
  That is really sad. :(
quasse 2y ago
Can you point to a single public school in the US that does this? Not being snarky, I would love to have one to show as an example. My public school had a kitchen ... that it used to heat up pre-packaged deep fried chicken and pizza from Sysco. Sometimes we would get some withered celery on the plate as well.
- SirMaster 2y ago
  I was just looking at the school I grew up going to. https://www.lodi.k12.wi.us/our-families/food-service https://www.lodi.k12.wi.us/our-families/food-service https://resources.finalsite.net/images/v1742572951/lodik12wius/j0jovx5litdaxyrz9pk7/April2025LunchHSBlue5Dayweekly.pdf https://resources.finalsite.net/images/v1742572951/lodik12wi... My mom works there and she says they are making a lot of the stuff themselves, like the casseroles and bakes, chili and soup, tacos, pizza, etc. Glean what you can from these images on the site I guess too? https://resources.finalsite.net/images/f_auto,q_auto,t_image_size_5/v1739979554/lodik12wius/an0lq6oj9kuwiiasgyor/camiloexplainingtacostostudent1.jpg https://resources.finalsite.net/images/f_auto,q_auto,t_image... https://resources.finalsite.net/images/f_auto,q_auto,t_image_size_5/v1739979554/lodik12wius/smdwvuroqq7emyf31xj8/camiloandsetupforlunch13.jpg https://resources.finalsite.net/images/f_auto,q_auto,t_image...
  - LorenzoGood 2y ago
    Just as personal knowledge, Taher as the food service provider probably indicates that they are making the food themselves.
    - SirMaster 2y ago
      Thanks, I didn't think to even look at that company name. https://www.taher.com/services/k-12-lunch/ https://www.taher.com/services/k-12-lunch/ Our enthusiasm for food translates directly into a better experience for K-12 lunch students: meals made with fresh, high-quality ingredients. Dishes prepared from scratch. Menus and display cooking sessions inspired by our Chef Council’s world travels. Plenty of healthy options, supplemented by nutrition information and education. In other words, we want your students to eat the best food possible, now and for life. CLASSIC CAFE STATION "The cycle-menu entrée choices are made from scratch daily, offering a minimum of two selections every day. This station is available for students to choose from on a daily basis." PIZZA AND PANINI STATION "A daily Panini or pizza choice. Taher’s Signature Pizza starts with a specially formulated crust. After smothering it with our zesty, old-world recopy pizza sauce and fresh mozzarella, we finish it off with a variety of toppings." FRESHWICH® "Deli Sandwich Station offering made-to-order fresh deli sandwiches and wraps, on choice of bread, served with all pickles, peppers, sauces, condiments, or simply tacos, burritos, wraps, ets." HOT SANDWICH & INTERNATIONAL GRILL "Presenting burritos, tacos, wraps, burgers, chicken, fish, and other popular items." GRAB-N-GO "Our A la Carte offerings will include healthier food, snacks and beverages selections, including our exciting and delicious line of Grab-n-Go products; made fresh, they are also available for students on the run Items offered include freshly-made salads, sandwiches, wraps, and homemade soups." FRUIT AND VEGETABLE BAR "An accompaniment to every meal. This station utilizes self-service and offers students a selection of fresh and canned fruits, and fresh vegetables."
  - yawnxyz 2y ago
    that's incredible, I wonder how many schools in the US still do this
    - alistairSH 2y ago
- ryandrake 2y ago
  Yea, I was under the impression that Sysco absolutely dominated the market for providing cheap, ultra-processed "food-like product" to schools and prisons. The food is one of many aspects where it's hard to tell the difference between a US school and prison.
  - amluto 2y ago
    Sysco dominates the commercial food service market across all tiers. Hint for anyone running a small commercial kitchen and considering buying ingredients from Sysco: unless something has changed in the last 20 years or so (I doubt it), they will completely screw you over if you don’t negotiate pricing effectively. If a service like Instacart undercuts your commercial prices, you’re doing it wrong.
- deleted 2y ago
  [deleted]
- tstrimple 2y ago
  You may be interested in what Brigaid is doing. They help schools transform to this style of food prep. They are having success in some areas at least. https://m.youtube.com/watch?v=YBhf--0ZUHc https://m.youtube.com/watch?v=YBhf--0ZUHc
mhuffman 2y ago
>Plenty of schools in the US have kitchens and cook their foods from scratch... Well, plenty of schools in the US used to cook food from scratch! They even had awesome cookbooks provided by the US government![1] (btw, it includes the recipe for that bomb-ass school pizza they used to have in the 80s and 90s! Credit to Max Miller from Tasting History for tracking it down.) That started getting privatized in the late 90s. Now they mostly just heat up things. [1] https://archive.org/details/CAT92970475/mode/2up https://archive.org/details/CAT92970475/mode/2up

Source? My Suburban school district primarily heated up foods from Sysco.

Many still have the kitchens, but the two in my hometown rarely cook from scratch anymore. I live in a small 5k person town in North Carolina, and recently got involved with the school PTO. And the cafeteria is basically just heating up premade meals these days.

johnisgood 2y ago
That is really sad. :(

quasse 2y ago

Can you point to a single public school in the US that does this? Not being snarky, I would love to have one to show as an example. My public school had a kitchen ... that it used to heat up pre-packaged deep fried chicken and pizza from Sysco. Sometimes we would get some withered celery on the plate as well.

SirMaster 2y ago
I was just looking at the school I grew up going to. https://www.lodi.k12.wi.us/our-families/food-service https://www.lodi.k12.wi.us/our-families/food-service https://resources.finalsite.net/images/v1742572951/lodik12wius/j0jovx5litdaxyrz9pk7/April2025LunchHSBlue5Dayweekly.pdf https://resources.finalsite.net/images/v1742572951/lodik12wi... My mom works there and she says they are making a lot of the stuff themselves, like the casseroles and bakes, chili and soup, tacos, pizza, etc. Glean what you can from these images on the site I guess too? https://resources.finalsite.net/images/f_auto,q_auto,t_image_size_5/v1739979554/lodik12wius/an0lq6oj9kuwiiasgyor/camiloexplainingtacostostudent1.jpg https://resources.finalsite.net/images/f_auto,q_auto,t_image... https://resources.finalsite.net/images/f_auto,q_auto,t_image_size_5/v1739979554/lodik12wius/smdwvuroqq7emyf31xj8/camiloandsetupforlunch13.jpg https://resources.finalsite.net/images/f_auto,q_auto,t_image...
- LorenzoGood 2y ago
  Just as personal knowledge, Taher as the food service provider probably indicates that they are making the food themselves.
  - SirMaster 2y ago
    Thanks, I didn't think to even look at that company name. https://www.taher.com/services/k-12-lunch/ https://www.taher.com/services/k-12-lunch/ Our enthusiasm for food translates directly into a better experience for K-12 lunch students: meals made with fresh, high-quality ingredients. Dishes prepared from scratch. Menus and display cooking sessions inspired by our Chef Council’s world travels. Plenty of healthy options, supplemented by nutrition information and education. In other words, we want your students to eat the best food possible, now and for life. CLASSIC CAFE STATION "The cycle-menu entrée choices are made from scratch daily, offering a minimum of two selections every day. This station is available for students to choose from on a daily basis." PIZZA AND PANINI STATION "A daily Panini or pizza choice. Taher’s Signature Pizza starts with a specially formulated crust. After smothering it with our zesty, old-world recopy pizza sauce and fresh mozzarella, we finish it off with a variety of toppings." FRESHWICH® "Deli Sandwich Station offering made-to-order fresh deli sandwiches and wraps, on choice of bread, served with all pickles, peppers, sauces, condiments, or simply tacos, burritos, wraps, ets." HOT SANDWICH & INTERNATIONAL GRILL "Presenting burritos, tacos, wraps, burgers, chicken, fish, and other popular items." GRAB-N-GO "Our A la Carte offerings will include healthier food, snacks and beverages selections, including our exciting and delicious line of Grab-n-Go products; made fresh, they are also available for students on the run Items offered include freshly-made salads, sandwiches, wraps, and homemade soups." FRUIT AND VEGETABLE BAR "An accompaniment to every meal. This station utilizes self-service and offers students a selection of fresh and canned fruits, and fresh vegetables."
- yawnxyz 2y ago
  that's incredible, I wonder how many schools in the US still do this
  - alistairSH 2y ago
ryandrake 2y ago
Yea, I was under the impression that Sysco absolutely dominated the market for providing cheap, ultra-processed "food-like product" to schools and prisons. The food is one of many aspects where it's hard to tell the difference between a US school and prison.
- amluto 2y ago
  Sysco dominates the commercial food service market across all tiers. Hint for anyone running a small commercial kitchen and considering buying ingredients from Sysco: unless something has changed in the last 20 years or so (I doubt it), they will completely screw you over if you don’t negotiate pricing effectively. If a service like Instacart undercuts your commercial prices, you’re doing it wrong.
deleted 2y ago
[deleted]
tstrimple 2y ago
You may be interested in what Brigaid is doing. They help schools transform to this style of food prep. They are having success in some areas at least. https://m.youtube.com/watch?v=YBhf--0ZUHc https://m.youtube.com/watch?v=YBhf--0ZUHc

mhuffman 2y ago

>Plenty of schools in the US have kitchens and cook their foods from scratch... Well, plenty of schools in the US used to cook food from scratch! They even had awesome cookbooks provided by the US government![1] (btw, it includes the recipe for that bomb-ass school pizza they used to have in the 80s and 90s! Credit to Max Miller from Tasting History for tracking it down.) That started getting privatized in the late 90s. Now they mostly just heat up things. [1] https://archive.org/details/CAT92970475/mode/2up https://archive.org/details/CAT92970475/mode/2up