2009
2025
2009
Our Story Begins 2009-2010
- The Chef Ann Foundation is founded to help schools make healthier meals.
- The Lunch Box site launches with a comprehensive database of scratch cook resources and tools.
- Whole Foods Market customers donate over $1.4 million to fund 564 salad bars in schools across the U.S.
- Salad Bars to Schools (SB2S) is founded by the Chef Ann Foundation and a collaboration of partner organizations.
2011
Our Work Gains Momentum 2011-2014
- In its first year, SB2S grants 516 salad bars to schools, providing 540,000 kids with daily access to fresh fruits and vegetables.
- CAF launches Healthy Breakfast for Kids (HB4K), an equipment grant program that helps schools implement universal, after-the-bell breakfast programs. HB4K awards grants to 117 schools and helps 47,717 students gain access to breakfast.
- SB2S grants an additional 1,209 salad bars to schools, reaching 604,500 kids.
- The Lunch Box is rebuilt and relaunched, providing better recipe software, more recipes, financial tools, operational tools, and content.
- CAF launches Project Produce, a fruit and veggie lunchroom education granting program.
2015
New Programs Developed 2015-2016
- CAF launches Get Schools Cooking (GSC), a deep dive program that works with districts to move them to cook from scratch.
- Project Produce supports 101 schools with experiential cafeteria education through fresh fruit and veggie trials.
- CAF develops the School Food Institute (SFI), a comprehensive personal learning program for school food professionals.
- 50+ Farm to School recipes are added to TLB to support districts in serving more scratch cooked items featuring local ingredients.
- CAF hosts the first Real School Food Challenge (RSFC). Boulder “home chefs” compete to create a USDA compliant school meal to raise awareness about the need for school food change.
2017
Major Milestones & Successes 2017-2018
- CAF launches the first SFI online course—School Food 101—to support schools making the transition to scratch cook operations.
- SB2S celebrates the granting of 5,000 salad bars to schools across the country.
- Ten additional SFI courses are launched, covering finances, procurement, salad bars, lunchroom marketing, sustainable lunchrooms, and more.
- CAF launches the More Plants Please! Initiative to help schools serve plant-forward and plant-based meals.
- GSC launches its 3rd cohort, bringing the GSC total alum to 15 districts.
2019
Expanding & Growing 2019-now
- The Chef Ann Foundation celebrates its 10th year!
- CAF’s total school support reaches over 11k schools and 3.2 million kids.
- The first national RSFC coordinates 12 chefs across the country. Restaurants created and served USDA-compliant meals on their menus and donated the proceeds to CAF.
- 30 new Plant Forward recipes developed by the CIA Healthy Kids Collaborative are added to TLB.
- CAF translates all SFI courses into Spanish, providing resources and content for ESL school food professionals
- The Lunch Box and Chef Ann Foundation websites are relaunched with new content, resources, and an updated design.
2025
Vision for the Future 2025+
- Even though serving fresh fruits and vegetables (and actually cooking in school kitchens) may no longer be considered “renegade,” we still see a ton of highly processed food served in schools across the country.
- We are committed to staying focused on the principles and mission of healthy scratch-cooked meals.
- We are committed to understanding the needs of our stakeholders, and supporting the tools, funding, and resources school food professionals need to cook in their districts.
- With 30 million school lunches served every day in the US (and upwards of $18b spent on school food every year), we are committed to providing opportunities for schools to harness their purchasing power and positively impact individual habits, health outcomes, and the environment.
- Most of all, we are committed to keeping the health and wellness of children at the heart of what we do.
