Child Nutrition
our program was awarded eat real's gold certification
our program was awarded eat real's gold certification![]()
our program was awarded eat real's gold certification
Eat Real's award-winning school food certification program is designed to help school districts move beyond the minimum USDA meal requirements and create meals that are more nutritious, less processed, locally and sustainably sourced, and appealing to students. Eat Real is a nonprofit organization, and certification is provided at no cost to school districts.
What does Eat Real measure?
The program evaluates a district's overall food program, rather than requiring every individual meal or menu item to meet every standard. The current certification evaluates 10 evidence-based standards and 34 key performance indicators across areas such as nutrition, procurement, sustainability, waste, and education.
- Reduced Sugar
- Menu Variety
- Whole Grains
- Sustainable Produce
- Fresh Choices
- Responsible Proteins
- Healthy Fats
- Waste Prevention
- Minimal Processing
- Real Food Education
How certification works
Eat Real works with a district to assess its current program and then develops a customized roadmap for improvement. Districts are evaluated across the standards and can achieve one of four certification levels:
Green → Silver → Gold → Platinum
The tier depends on the district's overall score. A district must demonstrate achievement across the standards rather than simply excelling in one area. The process generally takes one to two school years, although the timeline varies by district.
Why it is different from USDA certification
This is an important distinction: Eat Real certification is not a replacement for USDA meal-pattern compliance.
USDA establishes the federal requirements a school meal program must meet. Eat Real essentially asks:
What could a school meal program look like if we went beyond the minimum requirements?
We are very proud to be only one of three districts across the nation to have been awarded the Gold level certification.
New Plant-Based Beverage and Lactose-Free Milk Options Available to All Students
Parents and caregivers can complete the online request form for plant-based beverage or lactose free milk here. Once submitted, the request will be sent to the Child Nutrition staff at the student’s school. When the student comes through the breakfast or lunch line, they can let Child Nutrition staff know they have requested either lactose-free milk or a plant-based beverage.
The specific type of plant-based beverage may change depending on availability. For Fall 2026, soy milk is being offered.
Under federal nutrition guidelines, milk is one of the five meal components that make up a reimbursable school meal. The other components include fruit, vegetables, protein, and grains. Therefore, milk, or now a nutritionally equal substitute, must be offered to students at both breakfast and lunch.
However, under the updated Federal Dietary Guidelines for Americans, certain plant-based beverages are now allowed as substitutions. In addition, requests for non-dairy or lactose-free milk no longer require a form signed by a medical provider. Parents and caregivers may now request these options directly.
Breakfast and lunch will continue to be offered free of charge for all students for the 2026/27 school year, funded through the California Universal Meals Program.
Please see the latest updates to students’ meal experience, broken out by grade level.
Elementary Schools
All produce served is 100% certified organic, often from local family farms! Some example fruits such as juicy peaches, plums, and nectarines from Frog Hollow Farm, strawberries, and blackberries from Mimi’s Organic Farm. More prepared salads will be added, for example, a new Kale Crunch Salad made of organic romaine and kale, organic shredded carrots tossed with ranch dressing, parmesan, and croutons.
The beef hamburger is Halal and is currently the only Halal menu item on the Elementary Menu. Any entrees that are Halal are indicated in the name on Nutrislice, as well as it can be search on Nutrislice (there is a Halal icon). Signage is also put up on the serving line to indicate that if the entree is Halal. Please note, at this time, only the beef hamburger is Halal on the Elementary menu. New entrees for this year - hurray for pasta! Rotini pasta with a veggie protein bolognese will be served starting in September, with additional entrees such as Mac and Cheese, Penne Alfredo later in the year.
Favorites such as Boscos Cheese Sticks with Marinara, the pasture-raised, no-nitrate Hot Dog are also still on the menu.
New, hot vegetable sides will be added, such as hot corn, potato wedges, baked beans, edamame, and other seasonal favorites, which will be featured throughout the year.
For breakfast this year, we will continue to serve the popular organic corn pop cereals, yogurt, and muffins.
Middle Schools
For Middle Schools, more house-made, scratch-cooked menu items will be served, for example, Taco Bowls made with organic, local rice. In September, Herbed Chicken Drumsticks with Herbed Focaccia will be added, as well as a Meatball Sub Sandwich that is sure to be a hit. The Soboro Don (ground beef) with rice will be made from organic rice from Lundberg Farms. Favorites such as Bosco’s Cheese Sticks with Marinara, the pasture-raised, no-nitrate Hot Dog are also still on the menu. The favorite chicken sandwich is made with whole muscle, clean ingredient chicken on a whole grain bun. The popular Rotini Pasta with Bolognese and Soboro Don (made with organic, local rice) will be still be on the menu, made with a Halal-certified, locally raised ground beef.
Breakfast will transition to a full scratch menu over the course of the year. Middle School students will be introduced to scratch blueberry muffins in September and will have Pineapple Smoothies and Chicken Sausage Baked Egg Bites in December. In the Spring, a Mango Smoothie and Coffee Cake will be introduced.
High Schools
High Schools continue to have a menu with house-made, scratch meals - both at breakfast and lunch. Halal lunch options are now on the menu - both chicken and beef! Please see our online menu here to know which entrees are Halal. The freshly prepared, roasted chicken thigh (Halal) is still on the menu.
Lunch time goes by quickly for High School students, so we are continuing to work on the amount of time students wait in line, trying to shorten the wait as much as possible. At the same time, the improvement in the quality of food being offered across all lunch lines continues to be a high priority. Giving students a choice of how they spend their time and what they will enjoy eating for lunch is a priority.
Breakfast continues to offer menu items such as Smoothies, Chicken Sausage Egg Bites, freshly baked Coffee Cake, Bagels, and fresh fruit every day.
District Wide
Please keep in mind, the menu meets a high nutrition standard with whole grains and low added sugar content - so when you see items such as ‘frosted flakes’, they are not the same nutrition content as what is offered at the grocery store. The menu items offered at school have a higher whole grain content as well as lower sugar.
New Special Event Offerings
Schools, PTAs, and community partners can now order pizza party packages and BBQs for school events. Please see our Special Events page for more information.
Food Rescue Program
The food rescue program in partnership with White Pony & Recycle Smart will continue to operate district wide. While we strive to minimize leftovers, some will always remain because we never want to turn any student away without a meal. Any leftover, unserved food will be picked up by White Pony and distributed to those in need.
Share Tables will continue to be used across all schools - a Share Table is where students can leave unopened or whole fruit for other students to enjoy.
Updated: August 10, 2026What is served for school lunch and breakfast?
- Students can have one breakfast and one lunch free of charge, every day.
- A second meal or a la carte items are available to purchase with a pre-paid Titan account.
- Elementary schools offer breakfast during the morning recess (except Quail Run, which offers Grab n Go to the Classroom).
- For Middle and High Schools, please contact the school directly to find out which time breakfast is offered.
- Our lunch menu offers a variety of hot and cold entrées, along with fresh fruit, vegetables, and milk.
- All schools offer a daily Harvest Bar which features fresh fruit and vegetables.
Updated August 2023
