5 ideas to steal from San Luis Coastal Unified School District

The nutrition team at San Luis Coastal Unified School District in San Luis Obispo, Calif., has come up with innovative ways to provide the district’s approximately 7,500 students with nutritious, scratch-made meals daily. Here are five ideas from the team to try out at your operation. 

The blueberry sauce is flavored with maple extract to add a sweet flavor without added sugar. 

1. Experiment with extracts 

Food Service Director Erin Primer partnered with a local extract company to start using maple extract in some of its menu items, including a scratch-made blueberry sauce it serves with French toast sticks. The extract gives a sweet maple flavor to the syrup with no added sugar. 

2. Use trucks as mobile billboards   

The nutrition department has a handful of trucks that transport ingredients, menu items and more throughout the district. Primer decided to utilize the trucks as extra advertising space and had them wrapped with custom decals that promote the program. 

Smoothies at San Luis Obispo High School are served like parfaits. 

3. Try out a smoothie parfait 

After receiving feedback that students would rather eat their smoothies instead of drink them, the team at San Luis Obispo High School decided to top its smoothies with granola and serve them in a cup with a dome lid and spoon. Students now eat them like a parfait. 

4. Spruce up canned items with local ingredients 

Canned beans are kicked up a notch at San Luis Obispo High with the addition of fresh ingredients, including tomatoes and onions. The extra ingredients give additional flavor without added sodium, Primer says. 

5. Host a U-pick with a local farm 

A couple years ago, the nutrition team partnered with nearby California Polytechnic Institute to begin hosting seasonal U-picks at the campus farm. Each season, families in the district are invited to the farm to pick their own produce, including apples, peaches and more.