Santa Cruz School Cafeterias Go Fresh, Whole and Scratch

It's lunchtime at Gault Elementary School.

Third-grader Yalitza sifts through the cafeteria's salad bar line, plopping carrots and low-fat ranch over fresh lettuce. 

She adds two orange slices, a serving of homemade chicken "fried" rice — which is actually baked — and a small carton of milk.

In first grade, Yalitza's choices included individually-wrapped frozen pizzas, mini-cheeseburgers, corn dogs and smiley face french fries — potatoes pressed into hockey puck-like objects that the USDA counts as vegetables.

But not anymore.

Today, Yalitza devours the rice dish — which is getting mixed reviews — but she's not completely sold on her menu options.

"I really like the salad bar," she says. "But I liked the food better two years ago. They used to have things like chicken nuggets and the old pizzas tasted better."

Since Santa Cruz City Schools implemented a major overhaul in its food program last year, Director of Food Services Jamie Smith has fought an uphill battle to introduce fresh, whole, scratch foods to K-12 students, many of whom have unwittingly become devotees to high-calorie, processed foods. 

"They've tasted the salty-sweet manna from processed food," Smith said. "The reality is they don't like fresh food as much." 

Recent state and federal laws requiring schools to focus on nutritional and physical fitness led the district to conduct an assessment of its food program early last year. Results showed low program participation and an abundance of highly processed foods. 

"There were definitely a lot of things that the district needed to overcome to get to the point of seeing scratch foods and of serving every kid," Smith said.

By February, the district axed all frozen, prepackaged meals, switching to freshly prepared breakfasts, brunches and lunches in all Santa Cruz schools.

"I think that overall we've made very good progress implementing a vision of greatness with the food program," said Santa Cruz City Schools Superintendent Gary Bloom. 

Sodas and virtually all a la carte items, such as chips, have been eliminated, replaced by whole grain breads, large baskets of fruit, bottled water, 100 percent fruit juices and antibiotic-free, hormone-free milk. Flavored milk is served only once a week. 

Fresh homemade dishes, such as chicken mole and spaghetti with meatballs are prepared daily. Vegetarian dishes, such as cheese pizza on whole grain crust, were added to the menu. 

Smith also works with local distributors to bring in as much locally grown, organic produce as possible.

Slowly, the changes are taking effect with some students. 

"I like the new food," said Gault third-grader Francisco, after clearing his plate of chicken fried rice and salad. "It tastes good and it's healthy."

The older students, however, are more difficult to convert.

Because Santa Cruz high schools have open-campus policies, many students opt for fast food lunches.

"I don't like it," said Harbor High senior Jehimy Rosas. "First they took out the [smiley face french fries] and this year they don't give us Cheetos."

Smith knows that increased student participation in the food program — roughly 24 percent districtwide for the past two years — is essential if  it is to be successful and cost-effective. 

Districtwide, roughly 85 percent of students participating in school food programs receive free or reduced lunches through the National School Lunch Program, with the remainder made up of paying students.

Smith's goal is to serve breakfast and lunch to 100 percent of the district's students on a daily basis.

To increase awareness of healthy eating, Life Lab programs have been added to all elementary schools, in which students plant and harvest gardens and attend weekly nutrition classes. A modified version of the program called Food What! has been added to high schools.  

A new district food services website shows menus and offers tips for healthy eating.

"We'd also love to have more parents volunteering  at schools to get kids to try more things," Smith said. 

The lunch bell at Gault rings, signaling the lunch period's end. 

Students toss the remnants of their chicken fried rice into the trash can. Smith glances down and sees that  several of the dishes haven't even been opened. 

He reaches in, grabs one and enjoys a quick lunch.

"I measure success by the weight of the trash," he says. "When we started doing my food in February, the garbage became lighter. Ultimately, we just want kids to eat."