Everything Great About the MBHS Cafeteria

By Michael Pascual

Hundreds of students flock to the cafeteria each day to grab a lunch and, to the dismay of many, a fruit. However, the vast majority of these students have no idea what goes on behind the scenes of the school cafeteria. 

The MBHS cafeteria is one of the top in the nation, one of only seven American school cafeteria programs that are Eat Real Certified. An Eat Real certification is awarded to schools that essentially have healthy food and a low environmental impact. To receive an Eat Real Certification, a school has to meet 10 different standards with the goal to reduce environmental impact and provide healthier food for children. The ten standards are: 

• Reduced Sugar

• Whole Carbohydrates 

• Fresh Produce

• Healthy Fats

• Minimal Processing

• Sustainable Sourcing

• Responsible Proteins

• Menu Variety

• Minimized Food Waste

• Real Food Education

In addition to these standards, the MBHS cafeteria also does its best to get the vast majority of its produce from local farms. When I talked to Cory Bidwell, the lead chef, he talked about all of the local places the food we eat comes from. Most of the cheese comes from Cal Poly San Luis Obispo, the flour is locally milled at Bread Bike Bakery, the pasta comes from Etto’s Pasta Bar in Paso, and Kandarian farms provides the quinoa and lentils used in many of the dishes. All of the fruit is picked at local farms, and as I mentioned in my previous article, it’s delicious. 

This kind of support for local farmers our school provides is incredibly important for the well being of our community, as well as a great way to feed a happier and healthier generation of young students. The great thing about this system is that it will continue to grow, with the goal of eventually getting all the produce from local sources.