Are School Kitchens Poised for a Scratch-Cooking Revival?

1. School Nutrition Standards Are Changing

While the details won’t be announced until April, everyone is anticipating that the USDA’s new requirements will involve more whole grain and will draw tighter (though, phased in) restrictions on sodium.

For many, knowing how this will make sourcing more difficult—especially concerning premade and packaged foods—the writing is on the wall.

“With new guidelines proposed, along with extra money put into commodities a little over a year ago, the USDA is looking for more scratch cooking in schools,” says one of several industry experts cited in a recent article by Foodservice Equipment Reports (FES).

In the face of notorious labor issues, directors are incentivized to reevaluate how they can improve productivity and efficiency in their food prep to answer this scratch-cooking call.

The good news is that several strong market demands are adding a pull-through component that can make this regulatory push feel a little less like a burden. For example . . .

2. Plant-Based Consumption Is Growing Among School Students

First, at the college & university (C&U) level, what really took root in coastal regions is quickly becoming more mainstream, exemplified by an expansion of plant-based menu options across the Big Ten.

Further, a recent study has revealed how 81% of college students will choose a plant-based default option on the menu, even when they know a meat alternative is available upon request.

This trend is cascading down through k12—or, more appropriately, from Gen Z all the way down through the Gen Alphas coming up the ranks at the elementary level.

According to Datassential, 31% of Alphas are already eating on-trend ingredients like plant-based foods several times a week, while the item with the highest menu penetration in the past four years is plant-based chicken (+418%)! (Datassential, FoodBytes: The ABCs of Gen Alpha, 2023.)

3. The Fast-Casual Model Can Work Well for Schools

More compelling than the undeniable growth of fast-casual formats are the reasons why they’re growing—and how these reasons can translate to school operations for the way both fast-casual and schools serve an age-similar, time-strapped consumer.

Fast casuals are gangbusters for the way they provide healthier, fresher menu options through a quick-paced convenience model.

But it’s also about what many call the “democratization of food,” whereby fresh food prep allows patrons to customize their food orders.

Customization is why convenience stores likewise offer advantages that school foodservice directors can emulate for success and why, as the same FES article points out, “School foodservice operators (are placing) more equipment on the front lines in the form of action or finishing stations.”

4. Eliminating Food Waste Is a Sustainability Tentpole

Opposite health & wellness, the other driver behind the popularity of plant-based menu options, particularly among high-school- and college-age consumers, is sustainability.

Foremost is how plant-based menu items are a tangible demonstration of progress in this area and, therefore, resonate very well with younger generations that want to see sustainability in practice.

But, as schools move toward more scratch cooking, there are opportunities to advance the cause even further by reducing food waste in the back of the house.

From optimizing the use of ugly produce and root-to-stem techniques to extending produce shelf-life a return to scratch cooking with the right food prep tools in hand can pay big dividends beyond labor savings.