NYC Public Schools Can Serve Real Food, But Will They?

A new study finds it’s doable — and the long-term benefits are worth it

A scratch-cooked meal—hummus, flatbread, veggies, and warm apple bake—part of the Brigaid pilot. Photos by Brigaid.

Researchers from Columbia University have found that returning to scratch cooking is an attainable goal for the nation’s largest school district, New York City, which feeds over 900,000 public school children a day.

Their report — Cooking Outside the Box: How a Scratch Cooking Pilot in the Bronx is Reshaping Meals In New York City Schools — evaluated a scratch-cooking pilot run by chef Daniel Giusti’s Bridgaid at several public schools in the Bronx during the 2018–2019 school year.

“This pilot demonstrates a successful shift away from processed foods currently on the menu is possible,” said Pam Koch, executive director of Columbia University’s Laurie M. Tisch Center for Food, Education & Policy. “The potential positive impacts of scratch cooking on students’ diets, health, academic achievement, and sense of community are enormous.”

New London, Connecticut, Brigaid team.

Laying the groundwork

The pilot program was developed by Eric Goldstein, who ran school food in New York City for over a…