How to Bring Real Food to Your School
We all want our kids to eat healthy and perform well at school. Real food can unlock their potential.
1. Start at home
Introduce your kids to fresh veggies and fruits, shop and cook together when you can, and show them what a balanced meal looks like. All of it will translate to the food choices they make at school.
2. Meet your district’s Nutrition Services team
Our public schools serve 7 BILLION meals per year. Often in 10-minute blasts, with complicated regulations, inadequate infrastructure, and shockingly small budgets. Even if you don’t love the menu, they love your kids. Meet them, thank them, and ask how you can support them.
3. Track the extra snacks
Your district’s wellness committee sets the guidelines for in-class snacks, as well as food and beverages sold on campus. Read the policy, and ask for updates that limit sugar and prioritize real food. If you have time, join the wellness committee! It’s an amazing place to make an impact.
4. Potluck with parents
Your kids are also picking up eating habits from friends. Invite some of the families in your school community for a potluck. Enjoy a meal, share recipes, and build a healthy real food culture together.
5. Introduce Eat Real
Now that you’ve gotten to know your Nutrition Services team, ask if they’re interested in making their meal program more nutritious, delicious, and planet-sustaining. Eat Real can help! Send them to our website or contact us.
6. Private school or Preschool?
Eat Real’s K-12 certification program currently serves only K-12 public schools, but we’re growing rapidly. Join our newsletter for updates and school food tips!
About Eat Real
Eat Real nourishes the future of American school children by putting real food on the table at school, at home, and in local and national policy. Our award-winning K-12 certification program provides Food Service leaders with the framework and support they need to make their school menus delicious, nutritious, and planet-sustaining. Alongside our community of food system advocates, chefs, and parents, we spread the word about the power and urgency of serving real food at every meal. And we leverage our unique vantage point to push for system change, advocating for healthier policies and higher food standards at the local, state, and national level so every child can look forward to a healthy future.
