Berkeley school lunch program to be on its
own
Stacy Finz, Chronicle Staff Writer Monday, March 30, 2009
Three and a half years ago, Berkeley Unified School District launched the most vaunted public-school lunch program in the nation. Renowned public-school chef Ann Cooper was hired. Everything was made from scratch. Produce was purchased from local farms, and whenever possible it was organic.
While most districts spent between 85 and 95 cents on food for each student lunch, Berkeley spent $1.40. Every student received a free breakfast. And just to add icing to the whole-grain cupcake, the district used some of the money from a 2000 bond initiative to build a glossy, state-of-the-art kitchen and cafeteria, complete with composting station and organic herb garden. Money wasn't an issue because Alice Waters' Chez Panisse Foundation, a private charity
founded by the famous Berkeley restaurateur, was footing a good chunk of the bill. But in 2008, that gravy train stopped chugging - the foundation's three-year grant had run its course.
"They were never supposed to support us for the rest of our lives," said Cooper, who from the beginning vowed that the program would eventually become self-sufficient.
That time has come. If Berkeley's food services aren't flush by the 2009-10 school year, it could be back to processed chicken nuggets and canned fruit. And to make issues even more complex, Cooper, the powerhouse behind the program's success, is leaving at the end of the school year to help build similar programs at other districts around the country.
Before she departs, though, Cooper said she'll keep her promise to make the program pay for itself, despite rising food costs and sizable state school budget cuts.
"If anyone can do it, she can," said Carolyn Federman, director of development for the Chez Panisse Foundation, adding that if need be the Berkeley nonprofit might jump back in and hire Cooper as a consultant to get the district over the hump.
In the meantime, Berkeley Unified has kept the program afloat this year by kicking in $250,000, said Cooper. That number could still go up. Still, Cooper and her executive chef, Bonnie
Christensen, are confident they'll break even next year. For them, failing is not an option. Too many children's lives depend on it, they say.
School lunch key to health
Obesity - roughly 30 percent of the nation's youth are overweight - and poor nutrition are leading causes of childhood disease, including Type 2 diabetes. Since kids eat 30 to 50 percent of their food each day at school, it's important that educators set the bar high, said Juliet Sims, program coordinator for the Prevention Institute, an East Bay nonprofit dedicated to health and social issues.
"It would be a shame to see Berkeley's program end," Sims said. "There's strong evidence that providing healthful foods in schools leads to better nutrition and better academic performance." Long before Cooper came to the district, Eric Weaver saw problems with the food service. The Berkeley parent volunteered in his son's kindergarten class and noticed that students were stealing the teachers' snacks, which led him to believe that many of the kids weren't getting enough nutritious food at home and were hungry.
That, and the fact that many were, as he says, "outraged" by the lunches, rallied some parents, educators and community leaders to work on a proposal that would include a breakfast program as well as more healthful lunch options.
Foundation stepped in
But the plan wasn't fully realized until the Chez Panisse Foundation stepped in with its
checkbook. It hired Cooper, agreeing to pay her annual salary of $90,000 to $100,000 for three years. The Berkeley organization also employed consultants, trainers, recipe developers and researchers to develop an ambitious program that would later serve as a model for the rest of the nation.
First, Cooper had to retrain members of her staff, who had spent most of their cafeteria careers heating up highly processed frozen commodity food they received from the federal government. Now, they would actually cook meals - from scratch.
Instead of taking their commodity allotment in chicken nuggets, Cooper opted for whole chickens. She bought hormone- and antibiotic-free hamburgers and hot dogs, California-grown organic rice and beans.
Rather than purchasing fruit drenched in syrup, Cooper made friends with local farmers who would sell the district fresh, seasonal produce at a good price. She contacted local bakers and wrangled a deal to buy their breads, buns and pizza crusts - wholegrain, of course.
"We feel really strongly that we want to support our community," Cooper says of buying locally. Even the dairy products come from Northern California farms.
"There's this misconception that Berkeley took bland food and chichi'ed it up because it's foodie heaven here," Weaver said. "The truth is that all it's doing is making food the way it's supposed to be made. Instead of serving the kids these frozen graham cracker things that are passed off as peanut butter and jelly sandwiches, Berkeley is actually making real peanut butter and jelly sandwiches."
The question is, will it be able to continue to afford to make them? Cooper says, "Yes."
"We've become really efficient at what we do," she said. "And we've refined the buying down to a science. This year we've been able to lower the average meal cost by 4 cents from last year. It's not that we're cutting corners, we're just managing our inventories better, and our people are so well trained that there is very little waste."
Instead of buying milk in small cartons, Berkeley Unified buys it in bulk and gives students their own reusable cup to use at lunch. Cooper has worked to build a network of food resources so she can get the most bang for her buck. And to save money, she serves the pricier meats just once a month.
Close to breaking even
Cooper estimates that if 70 more kids a day participated in the lunch program district-wide, it would break even. So the district has been promoting the lunch service with a rigorous marketing plan, including banners, posters and a big push at school board and PTA meetings.
"Ann's got such energy and is such a power ball," said Mark Coplan, a spokesman for the district. "If anyone can sell it, she can. And when she leaves, she's trained her staff so well that they can pick up where she left off."
Executive chef Christensen and Marni Posey, manager of nutrition services, are poised to take over, Cooper said.
In the meantime, the rest of the nation's school officials and nutrition specialists wait and watch. Kate Adamick of the Orfalea Fund's s'Cool Food Initiative, another nonprofit, has spent a lot of time studying Berkeley's example while setting up similar programs in Santa Barbara County. "I think the Berkeley model is a role model for everyone around the country," she said. "We have a moral obligation to teach our children how to feed themselves healthfully. We are literally feeding our children to death. To say we can't afford to feed them better is unconscionable."
9,000
Number of students in the Berkeley school district.
Percentage of Berkeley elementary students who buy school lunches.
$3
Price Berkeley elementary students pay for lunch.
35
Percentage of Berkeley middle school students who buy school lunches.
$3.50
Price Berkeley middle school students pay for lunch.
10
Percentage of Berkeley high school students who buy school lunches.
$4
Price Berkeley high school students pay for lunch.
Free
Price for breakfast for all Berkeley Unified students.
$250,000-$300,000
Amount Berkeley Unified is paying to cover the shortfall in this year's school lunch program. - Stacy Finz
A plate of glazed turkey and vegetables for lunch at Martin Luther King, Jr. Middle School in Berkeley.
From left: Maya Wong, Emily Hearst and Aviva Wolf-Jacobs, all 11, eat lunch at Martin Luther King Jr. Middle School.
Chef Ann Cooper makes a big batch of lentils for lunch at Martin Luther King Jr. Middle School. Cooper, the force behind the school lunch program, is leaving at the end of the year.
