Los Angeles Unified School District is rolling out a new school menu this fall, and the LAUSD school meals line-up includes dishes shaped by student chefs, local farmers and celebrity chefs as students return to class next week.
The district’s latest offerings include chicken pozole, butter chicken with kachumber salad, lasagna rolls, a pork katsu sandwich and a vegan blueberry muffin. LAUSD also highlighted other items developed with outside culinary help, including a chorizo breakfast bowl, an LA cheesesteak and additional lasagna rolls. Students, parents and district officials gathered Saturday at West Adams Preparatory High School for a tasting event that gave families a look at the year ahead.
Los Angeles Unified said students sampled fresh California-grown fruits and vegetables through its Farm to School Farmer’s Harvest program. The district said the effort is built around using ingredients taken straight from farms and giving students a more direct role in shaping what ends up on their trays. In a post on Instagram, the district pointed to the connection between student input and fresh produce from California growers.
One of the winning student-led dishes came from Daniel Sandoval, who headed the amateur culinary team behind butter chicken and kachumber salad. Sandoval said the goal was to represent different cultures while making food that tastes good. He also pointed to the use of traditional Indian spices, including turmeric and curry spice, as part of what made the dish stand out.
LAUSD Superintendent Andres E. Chait tied the menu changes to a broader shift in how the district feeds children. He said the school lunches of decades past are far behind the district now, thanks in part to work with local growers that brings fresh fruits and vegetables to students’ plates. Chait said better food helps children learn better and attend school more often. He also said he was struck by seeing pozole on the menu, saying he would not have believed it 30 years ago.
