In a special treat for our staff and members of our Board of Directors, we recently had the opportunity to visit Mt. Diablo Unified School District, the first district certified by Eat Real in California. We were welcomed by Dominic Machi, the district’s Director of Food & Nutrition Services and Warehouse and one of the leading school food authorities in the state.
The tour started at one of the most impressive parts of the food service program in Mt. Diablo, a cavernous new warehouse opened in 2021 that serves as a central distribution center for the district’s 52 schools and 32,000 students. Mt. Diablo is committed to sourcing as much food as possible from local sources including Mary’s Chicken, CreamCo Meats, and dozens of other local businesses. As the day came to end, we enjoyed a school staple for lunch: pizza! However, this wasn’t any ordinary pizza. It was prepared with a locally-made whole grain crust, low sugar tomato sauce, and organic, grass-fed cheese.
One of the main outcomes of Eat Real’s certification program is to help schools re-imagine lunch classics to make them more nutritious for students. The pizza we enjoyed at Mt. Diablo is just one example of this work in action!