Nutritional Services Blog

There’s something magical about the start of a school day. The soft hum of conversation in the cafeteria. Friends gathering at tables, greeting each other with smiles. The tempting aroma of warm breakfast foods and fresh fruit filling the air. At Scottsdale Unified School District, it all begins with breakfast.

National School Breakfast Week takes place March 2–6, 2026. This year’s theme, The Quest for School Breakfast, invites students to see the breakfast line as the beginning of a daily adventure.  Fueled up and ready, students dive into math problems, science labs, reading groups, practices, performances, and everything in between.

It’s a fun week filled with themed menus and special activities. But the message behind it is simple and lasting:

• Breakfast isn’t just important one week in March. It’s important every single day of the year.
• When students start their morning with a balanced meal, they are more focused, more energized, and better prepared to learn. 
• Breakfast supports attendance, attention, and overall well-being. It sets the tone for the entire day.

At Scottsdale Unified, breakfast is:

• Nutritious: meeting federal nutrition guidelines
• Convenient: served before school at ALL our school sites
• Accessible: In Cafes and Outdoor Carts, depending on the site
• Affordable:
  • $2.50 for students with paid meal status
  • No Cost for students approved for Free or Reduced meal benefits
  • No Cost for ALL students at the following schools, regardless of their meal benefit status: Coronado, Hohokam, Navajo, Pima, Tavan, Tonalea and Yavapai

Mornings can feel hectic, backpacks, schedules, early alarms. School breakfast helps simplify the routine. From warm breakfast sandwiches to yogurt and granola, fresh fruit, cereal, and milk, there’s something to fuel every student. Families can even view daily menus anytime at Nutrislice.com, making it easy to plan ahead and start the day off right.

National School Breakfast Week gives us a moment to celebrate. But the real goal is building the habit, choosing breakfast not just during a themed week, but throughout the school year.

At Scottsdale Unified, we believe a strong day starts with a strong breakfast, and that’s something worth celebrating all year long.

Menu Masters – Student Voices Matter

On January 29, Nutrition Services hosted its inaugural Menu Masters Event at Chaparral High School, an exciting new initiative designed to put student voice at the center of our new development. The event brought together more than five food vendors, offering samples of over 27 potential new menu items for our school cafeterias. Students had the opportunity to taste and evaluate a wide variety of options, from chicken tinga and Southwestern egg rolls to strawberry banana smoothies and fresh-baked muffins. Participants provided valuable feedback and ratings on each item, helping us identify the dishes that truly resonate with our students. Nutrition Services will use the feedback, and top-rated selections may be featured on future school menus. 

We sincerely thank Chaparral administration, students, and culinary team for their partnership in making this first Menu Masters event a success. We look forward to hosting more student-centered events like this in the future, continuing to strengthen engagement, gather meaningful input, and shape menus that align with student needs and expectations. 

Learn More at the Source 

Our schools are taking big steps to bring more fresh, local foods to students, and we’re excited to share what’s new on the menu. This year, we’ve added K4 Ranches beef from Prescott, Oatman Farms organic heirloom grain sourdough bread, and Ramona Farms organic wheatberries, all grown or raised right here in Arizona. These ingredients not only taste great, but they also help us support the farmers and ranchers in our own communities.

Local Beef with Local Pride

K4 Ranches has become one of our favorite new partners. Their high-quality, responsibly raised beef gives us a delicious and reliable option for school meals. Choosing beef that’s raised just up the road means fresher food for students and support for Arizona ranching families.  We currently serve K4 all beef hot dogs and plan to use K4 ground beef after Winter Break in a few select menu items.   

Heirloom Sourdough Students Can Feel Good About

We are also thrilled to serve sourdough bread from Oatman Farms out of Gila Bend, AZ. Made with heirloom grains grown on their certified organic farm, and baked with care, this bread is full of flavor and nutrients. It’s a simple switch that brings students closer to real, wholesome food.  Look for this sourdough to be available on specialty sandwiches in the MS/HS menu, including the Turkey Avocado Club served in December.  We will be exploring more Oatman Farms products, coming to all cafeterias soon! 

Celebrating Indigenous Foods with Ramona Farms Wheatberries

Ramona Farms, located on the Gila River Indian Reservation, grows traditional Indigenous crops that have been part of this region for generations. Their wheatberries will be showing up in salads, grain bowls, and side dishes. These foods help students explore new flavors while honoring the cultural history of our area.  We are excited to add wheatberries to a special berry parfait in December and are working to develop some side items and grain bowls with this amazing product.

Fresh, Local Produce Every Week

Along with these new ingredients, we are also adding more locally grown fruits and vegetables to our fresh offerings. Depending on the season, students might enjoy Arizona-grown citrus, apples, greens, squash, microgreens, and more. When produce comes from nearby farms, it’s fresher, tastes better, and supports the growers who help feed our communities.  

Fun Fact: Arizona is the winter vegetable capital, and our local list just grew by leaps and bounds!

Why Local Matters

Bringing in more local foods has big benefits:

• Fresher meals that taste better and fuel students throughout the day
• Support for Arizona farms and ranches
• Fun learning opportunities about where food comes from
• A stronger connection between our schools and our community

Looking Ahead

We’re excited to continue growing our farm-to-school partnerships! Working with local businesses like K4 Ranches, Oatman Farms, Ramona Farms, and local produce growers helps us offer meals that are nutritious, delicious, and proudly Arizona-grown. 

Local foods don’t just fill our plates, they help us celebrate the land, the people, and the traditions that make our community special.

Learn More at the Source

By: Amber Howell, Dietetic Intern

If you’re anything like me, you may not realize how much planning, nutrition science, and teamwork go into every school meal. As a dietetic intern nearing the end of my four-week rotation with Scottsdale Unified School District Nutrition Services, I’ve had the opportunity to see this process up close, and I was genuinely surprised. I’d like to share what I’ve learned so parents, teachers, and staff can better understand how the system provides healthy, balanced meals and how we can all support children’s food choices both in and out of school.

One of the most striking takeaways from this rotation is that school meals aren’t just ‘regular cafeteria food.’ They must follow strict federal nutrition standards set by the United States Department of Agriculture (USDA). Each meal includes all five major food components: fruits, vegetables, grains, lean protein, and low- or nonfat milk. Meals must also meet specific limits for calories, fat, and sodium. Even snacks sold outside of the main meal, such as à la carte items or vending machine options, must comply with the USDA’s Smart Snacks in School standards, which limit calories, sugar, and saturated fat. As a result, snacks available in school cafeterias are often far more nutritious than those found in convenience stores or grocery stores.

SUSD takes these standards a step further and follows their own Healthy Menus Nutrition Initiative, which was created in 2017 in partnership with a parent group, as a pledge to make their meals even healthier. These are: 

• No MSG
• No High Fructose Corn Syrup
• No Artificial Dood Dyes
• No BHT/BHQ (with the exception of pepperoni)
• No TBHQ
• Nearly Nitrite and Nitrate free
• A la carte snacks not to exceed 13g added sugar

Select SUSD sites also participate in the USDA’s Fresh Fruit and Vegetable Program (FFVP). This program provides fresh fruits and vegetables outside of regular meal options. Schools offer these snacks at least twice a week to stay in the program, and teachers educate on nutrition and fun facts about the produce the program provides that day. This gives students the chance to learn about and try produce they may not have been exposed to, like sun gold kiwis or beets. Exposure helps students build curiosity about food and supports lifelong healthy habits.

In other words, when students get their lunch at school, it’s the result of careful planning to provide balanced, healthy options.

During my time with SUSD, I’ve learned how the Nutrition Services team plans menus, projects meal participation, and works within a budget that must serve thousands of students each day while maintaining compliance, variety and cost-effectiveness. For example, SUSD recently raised meal prices for the first time in eight years due to rising food, labor, and supply costs. Despite these challenges, the team continues to find ways to keep meals affordable for students and staff while offering healthy choices.

Throughout this rotation, I’ve had the chance to spend time in several SUSD kitchens and see firsthand the effort it takes to prepare enough meals and options for students and teachers each day. I’ve also had the opportunity to participate in the assembly process; blending smoothies, assembling parfaits and wrapping chicken sandwiches right alongside the staff. Behind the scenes, the Nutrition Services team carefully plans each recipe, balancing nutrition, student preference, and the practicality of preparing food efficiently with limited time and staffing (typically about 2-6 employees per kitchen). Feeding so many students across the district requires careful coordination and creativity. To put it in perspective, the graph to the right shows how many meals (for breakfast and lunch) were served just last school year.

Before new items are added to the menu, Nutrition Services aims to involve students in the decision-making process. They department is currently in the process of creating a special event called “Menu Masters”. This event will invite high school students to sample new breakfast and lunch items and give their feedback. I had the opportunity to help with a taste test during an elementary school breakfast during my rotation (see photo below) where the students tried turkey breakfast sausage pizza and a blueberry cinnamon stick with cheese. 

While the cafeteria does its part to keep students fueled with healthy meals, children’s food choices are influenced in many places. Here are a few simple ways parents and teachers can help influence healthy eating habits:

• Talk with children about what they buy at school versus what they eat at home and discuss the variety of options available. 
• Encourage children to look at the school menu. I’d even recommend looking at the menu together every week. Most school districts post their menus on the district website
• Nutrition education is key. Have a discussion with children about how their school meals and snacks are different from at home. For example, the school-served chicken nugget is baked and has strict nutrition regulations, versus a fast-food nugget that is fried and follows no nutrition regulations. 
• If you are a parent, eat lunch with your child at their school when you have the chance.
• In my opinion, the primary focus should be that children are fed, have reliable access to meals, feel safe and supported at school, and are ready to engage in learning. Nutrition is part of that foundation.

In my role as a dietetic intern, observing multiple settings and now working with SUSD, I’ve come to see that school food service is far more complex, regulated, and committed to nutrition than it is often given credit for. From carefully planned menus and portion control to balanced food groups and local produce initiatives, the goal is to nourish students so they can learn, grow, and thrive.

That doesn’t mean every snack choice is perfect, or every child will eat the fruits or vegetables in their meal. But it does mean that the system is built with their health in mind. With your support at home and in the classroom, students can continue to make smart food choices that serve them inside and outside of school.

Thank you for reading my view, and your role in keeping our students nourished, supported and ready to succeed.

Sincerely,
Amber Howell, Maricopa County Department of Public Health-WIC Track Dietetic Intern
Scottsdale Unified School District Rotation

Learn more:

• For detailed national standards on school meals: check the USDA’s “Nutrition Standards for School Meals” page. USDA Food and Nutrition Service+2USDA Food and Nutrition Service+2
• For SUSD menu-information and variety: visit the online menu at https://scottsdale.nutrislice.com/menu?isRunningInMobileApp=true
• To stay up to date on any new SUSD Nutrition Services announcements, follow @susd_nutrition on Instagram and SUSD Nutrition on Facebook
• To learn more about the FFVP: see the USDA’s site for the Fresh Fruit & Vegetable Program. USDA Food and Nutrition Service+1
• Read about Smart Snack Standards here: https://fns-prod.azureedge.us/sites/default/files/resource-files/smartsnacks.pdf
• Learn More at the Source

On November 18th and 20th, our elementary and K8 schools served up something extra special, a Thanksgiving meal that had students (and staff!) smiling from ear to ear. A big shout-out to our amazing Nutrition Services team for putting so much care and hard work into creating such a wonderful event!

From the moment the ovens fired up, the team was all-in, cooking, plating, laughing, and making sure every student got a tasty, festive meal. These rockstars do so much more than prepare food.  They bring joy, energy, and a whole lot of heart to our schools every single day.

We can’t forget the volunteers, school administration, and staff! We had an awesome crew of helpers who jumped in to serve meals, greet students, and sprinkle a little extra cheer around the cafeterias. Their enthusiasm helped turn an ordinary school day into something truly special.

A huge THANK YOU to our Nutrition Services team and all the volunteers who made this Thanksgiving lunch unforgettable. Full bellies, happy kids, and a whole lot of gratitude.  What more could we ask for?

Happy start to the holiday season!

Learn More at the Source