Our school meal program is now Eat Real Certified! 

We are thrilled to announce that in Spring 2023, our Child Nutrition Services program is Eat Real Certified at the Silver Level. This achievement demonstrates our unwavering commitment to serving nutritious, locally-sourced, and scratch-cooked meals that support the health and well-being of our students. 

During the certification process, Eat Real evaluated our program on ten different standards, which go beyond federal and state child nutrition program regulations. These standards cover various aspects such as nutrition, sustainability, and transparency. We are proud to have met and exceeded these standards, a culmination of our hard work over the last three and a half years. 

Here are some examples of the impact on student meals made possible through the Eat Real Certification process: 

● Locally sourced produce: 66% of our produce (an increase of 34% from 2019) is sourced locally, providing fresh and delicious options for our menus and salad bars. 

● Minimally processed ingredients: Our staff makes our marinara, teriyaki, and alfredo sauces from scratch. We also add new seasonal, housemade recipes to our menus, such as crispy ranch chickpea wraps, spinach-orzo salad, and chicken teriyaki with yakisoba noodles. 

● Reduced added sugar: We have reduced the amount of added sugar across all our menus, especially in breakfast. In order to meet the Silver Level, we no longer serve items with more than three teaspoons of added sugar. Our house-made cinnamon muffin contains only ¼ teaspoon of added sugar, and our pancakes contain 1 ¼ teaspoon of added sugar. 

● High-quality, local meats and animal products: We're proud to use free-range chicken with no antibiotics ever from Mary’s Chicken, organic, pasture-raised ground beef from Mindful Meats, and organic cheese from family-owned Rumiano Cheese Company. 

We are committed to continually improving our nutrition program and providing healthy and delicious meals to our students. Read more about our Eat Real Certification and Eat Real’s mission to nourish by increasing school kids’ access to the nutritious, sustainable food they need to thrive. 

Federal Nutrition Guidelines

School meals programs are required to meet specific nutrition standards to operate the school meals program. The baseline standards are set by the U.S. Department of Agriculture and the California Department of Education. The WCSD menu will continue to meet the federal nutrition standards, including limits on calories, sodium and unhealthy fats. Students choose from a wide variety of fruits, vegetables, whole grains, lean proteins and low fat or fat free milk with every meal.  

Per federal guidelines, school lunches must include: 

• More fruits and vegetables: Vegetable choices must include weekly offerings of legumes, dark green and red/orange vegetables. Students are required to take at least one half-cup serving of fruits or vegetables with every school breakfast and lunch. 

• Whole grains: At least half of the grains offered with school meals must be whole grain-rich (at least 51% whole grain). 

• Free drinking water must be available in the cafeteria during lunch.  

Daily Amounts Based on the Average for a 5-Day Week for K-8 Grades

Min-max calories (kcal)  600–650

Saturated fat (% of calories) < 10

Sodium (mg) ≤ 1,230