SACRAMENTO, CA –  On Saturday, Sept. 18, the Sacramento City Unified School District (SCUSD) will debut its Central Kitchen Food Truck at the Farm-to-Fork Festival on Capitol Mall in Sacramento. Proceeds from the Central Kitchen Food Truck sales at the festival will benefit students throughout the district and offer a sneak peak at future lunch menu items provided by the SCUSD Nutrition Services Department.   

Grants from No Kid Hungry helped fund the Central Kitchen Food Truck and will be used to increase access to freshly prepared meals for students, regardless of income. 

“We know that school is where many students access food each day and we want to make sure these meals are healthy and nutritious,” said Superintendent Jorge A. Aguilar. “The Food Truck will help us improve access to these meals. We are not only proud of the high-quality meals our Central Kitchen can provide, but excited that all SCUSD students can access this delicious food every day for free.” 

California is the first state in the nation to provide free meals to all K-12 public school students through SB 364, which ensures all California students receive breakfast and lunch at no cost, regardless of income, indefinitely. Once the Central Kitchen is fully staffed and operational, it will support 80 different school locations serving approximately 40,000 meals per day for SCUSD students. 

“Through Sacramento City Unified’s Central Kitchen and the new Food Truck, the Nutrition Services Department is embarking on a path to forever change the role of food in the lives of the students we serve,” said Central Kitchen Director Diana Flores. “We look forward to daily operations of the Central Kitchen Food Truck to directly connect freshly prepared meals to the students at our schools.”

SCUSD Nutrition Services uses the best resources they have available in all of their meals, including partnering with local farmers and growers. When the Central Kitchen opens later this year, the district will expand food services with professional chefs working in the kitchen to prepare real, wholesome foods from scratch.

“Our Farm-to-School program connects students to local food and to the farmers and producers who grow it,” said Central Kitchen Executive Chef Tom Lucero. 

During the pandemic, the Nutrition Services team provided 11.5 million curbside meal kits for students and continues to do so for students who are participating in the Independent Study Program. 

At the Farm-to-Fork Festival, the Central Kitchen Food Truck is serving Birria style tacos with grass fed beef, topped with fresh shucked roasted corn salsa, pickled red onions, cotija crumbles and a creamy jalapeno aioli, and served with a cup of chilled chamoy fruit. Featured local producers include Vierra Farms, Yeung Farm, Leavitt Lake Ranches, Javiar Produce among others. 

All proceeds from the Central Kitchen Food Truck sales at the festival will benefit SCUSD students for field trips to Floyd Farms run by nonprofit partner Food Literacy Center. SCUSD designed and built an urban farm and state of the art cooking school on the campus of Leataata Floyd Elementary that will serve to educate students about food literacy and ultimately teach them to eat their vegetables.  Floyd Farms is scheduled to open this October.  

Please note that the Farm-to-Fork Festival will require proof of COVID-19 vaccination or a negative test conducted within 72 hours to attend. 

B-roll video of the Central Kitchen Food Truck and soundbite with Central Kitchen Executive Chef Tom Lucero:

https://www.dropbox.com/sh/58hk1qv64mksbwz/AADx0xOijWsvlizeglu42Hbea?dl=0

About the Central Kitchen

The Sacramento City Unified School District (SCUSD) launched its Central Kitchen Project, where food is prepared locally and sent to schools. The project is being funded by Measure R which voters passed in 2012, to allow the district to improve the health and safety of children. Learn more at thecentralkitchen.org.