FoodLab - Pacific School's Award-Winning School Lunch Program

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The current Monthly FoodLab Menu can be found at the top of the Menu and Calendar page.
Meals Available to All Youth age 18 or Younger
  • Student/youth meals are free for all youth. 
  • Any youth age 18 or younger can receive a free meal, they do not need to be an enrolled student. To-go meals will be available and should be picked up between 11:00 and 1:00.
  • Adult meals are $6.00 and must be paid for in advance at the office.
Every meal distributed helps support Pacific School's unique and award-winning FoodLab program! Although student meals are free, our program costs more to operate than we receive in state and federal reimbursements. If you would like to contribute to the cost of your student's meals, please make your checks payable to Pacific School and put Student Meals in the memo line.
Community Food: If your family or someone you know needs food, use this map  and this flyer to determine other meal and food pick-up locations and times.
Support FoodLab
Pacific School's award-winning FoodLab program is supported by Friends of FoodLab. Thank you to everyone who supports Friends of FoodLab by donating money, time, or food, or attending our annual Farm-to-Table event. Click here to learn how to support FoodLab.
FoodLab Forms and Information
  • Free or Reduced Price Lunch Application (Available Here) - ALL FAMILIES are requested to please complete this CONFIDENTIAL application. Doing so will not hurt the finances of the school and allows us to have accurate information about our student body when applying for grants and government programs. In past years, families who could qualify for free or reduced price ($0.40) lunches have gotten missed because they did not complete the paperwork - let's avoid that this year.
  • Request Special Meals Form  (Available Here) - Use this form to request special meal accommodations for your student; submit to Pacific School Office.
  • Pacific School's Wellness Policy is available here.

​If your student is eligible for Free and Reduced Price lunches, you may also be eligible for the following programs:
Student Meals
In 2021-22 school meals are free for all students. Starting in 2022-23, we anticipate that the school's fresh and wholesome school lunch will cost $3.75 (or slightly more), $0.40, or free for students. All students are encouraged to participate in the lunch program.

Adult Lunch System
Adults are welcome to eat the school lunch. All adults who eat Pacific School's award winning lunches must pay in advance in the office:
  • Staff, Substitutes, and UCSC Interns: $4.50 per lunch.
  • All other adults, parent volunteers, non-enrolled siblings, etc: $6.00 per lunch. 
After you prepay for your lunches in the school office, you will be issued a bar code card with your family name on it. Each time you eat lunch, remove the card from the wall hanging and place in in the basket by the plates. Children may NOT nibble for free from parents' plates, the price is per person eating.

Paying for Lunches
Please pay in advance for lunches. The easiest way is to set up an automatic payment to the school with your own personal bank. We recommend paying for 20 student meals at the beginning of each month ($75) and 10 adult meals ($60). The school accepts cash or checks only. Please clearly indicate on your check whether the money is for student or adult meals, as these have to be tracked separately.

Introduction to FoodLab
Description
As a Green Certified Public School in Santa Cruz County with the world renowned, award winning kitchen classroom, FoodLab, we involve students in every aspect of our school meal program—planning, planting, harvesting, cooking, serving and eating local, organic, healthy meals.
 
Mission
The mission of this program is to educate the whole child by teaching them life-long skills such as leadership, teamwork, environmental stewardship and culinary arts, while reinforcing every academic subject covered in the traditional classroom. 

History
In September of 1984, Pacific School began a very unique lunch program in which students in the fifth and sixth grades plan and prepare student lunches on a daily basis. The Food Lab program was created by Stephanie Raugust and has been continued and expanded upon by the current Food Lab Coordinator Emelia Miguel. FoodLab has been recognized with numerous rewards and visitors, both nationally and internationally.

Sample Menus from Previous Months:
FoodLab Featured in EdSource 
​Check out this awesome Video and Article about Pacific School's FoodLab program! FoodLab is also described in this Podcast.

How FoodLab Works
Fifth and sixth graders go into the kitchen once a week in groups of 5 to 7, to work with FoodLab Coordinator Emelia Miguel. Each child has a position - Prep person, Cook, Manager, and Baker - and positions are rotated every month.

Six Areas of Learning for FoodLab Success
The best thing about FoodLab is its effect on the students. Sixth graders who have been in the program for two years are self-confident problem solvers who are knowledgeable about nutrition and connected to their community and to the sources of their food. It's no wonder that the FoodLab program has won so many awards!
  1. Kitchen Skills. The children learn to use knives and other kitchen equipment properly in an environment of strict health and safety instruction. They learn about good nutrition in a cooperative environment where learning to work with others is a necessity.
  2.  Connection to Life Lab. The FoodLab program works in tandem with the Life Lab program, where children plan, tend, and harvest their plots in the school garden - all to provide produce for Food Lab.
  3. Learning about our rich agricultural community. The area around Davenport is abundant with small, organic farms, several of which send their children to the school.
  4. Cultural and Historical connections with food. Menus are planned with diverse cultural holidays in mind, giving the children the chance to experience food from around the world. 
  5. Applied math and science skills. In FoodLab, students learn about units of weight and measurement. They are responsible for multiplying recipes and also learn how to calculate nutrition and serving size.
  6. Developing social skills. During school meals, children are expected to learn and use etiquette, such as putting their napkins in their laps and asking for things to be passed. The cooks are praised, and everyone is aware of the efforts of the people in FoodLab that day. In this way, they learn to recognize and appreciate each other's work, and to feel the satisfaction of a job well done as they see others eating the food that they prepared.
Donations and Volunteer Opportunities
If you would like to donate to FoodLab, please bring or mail your check to the school office (Pacific Elementary School, P.O. Box H, Davenport, CA 95017). Make your check out to Pacific School with FoodLab in the memo field or use the DONATE button on the home page of the school's website.

If you are interested in volunteering to support FoodLab, click here, or speak with Food Services Director Emelia Miguel.
"FoodLab is better than recess."
​- Fifth grader
“If I lived in Santa Cruz, I would send my kid here because this is the best food of any school I’ve seen.” - School Kitchen Health Inspector
Preschool field trip to Food Lab during distance learning in 20210.
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Ms. Emelia and FoodLab students cooking at the Boardwalk's annual Clam Chowder Cookoff. They won 2nd place in the Professional Themes category.
Non-Discrimination Statement
In accordance with federal civil rights law and U.S. Department of Agriculture (USDA) civil rights regulations and policies, this institution is prohibited from discriminating on the basis of race, color, national origin, sex (including gender identity and sexual orientation), disability, age, or reprisal or retaliation for prior civil rights activity.
Program information may be made available in languages other than English. Persons with disabilities who require alternative means of communication to obtain program information (e.g., Braille, large print, audiotape, American Sign Language), should contact the responsible state or local agency that administers the program or USDA’s TARGET Center at (202) 720-2600 (voice and TTY) or contact USDA through the Federal Relay Service at (800) 877-8339.
To file a program discrimination complaint, a Complainant should complete a Form AD-3027, USDA Program Discrimination Complaint Form which can be obtained online at: https://www.usda.gov/sites/default/files/documents/USDA-OASCR%20P-Complaint-Form-0508-0002-508-11-28-17Fax2Mail.pdf, from any USDA office, by calling (866) 632-9992, or by writing a letter addressed to USDA. The letter must contain the complainant’s name, address, telephone number, and a written description of the alleged discriminatory action in sufficient detail to inform the Assistant Secretary for Civil Rights (ASCR) about the nature and date of an alleged civil rights violation. The completed AD-3027 form or letter must be submitted to USDA by:
  1. mail:
    U.S. Department of Agriculture
    Office of the Assistant Secretary for Civil Rights
    1400 Independence Avenue, SW
    Washington, D.C. 20250-9410; or
  2. fax:
    (833) 256-1665 or (202) 690-7442; or
  3. email:
    program.intake@usda.gov
This institution is an equal opportunity provider.

Los demás programas de asistencia nutricional del FNS, las agencias estatales y locales, y sus beneficiarios secundarios, deben publicar el siguiente Aviso de No Discriminación:
De conformidad con la Ley Federal de Derechos Civiles y los reglamentos y políticas de derechos civiles del Departamento de Agricultura de los EE. UU. (USDA, por sus siglas en inglés), se prohíbe que el USDA, sus agencias, oficinas, empleados e instituciones que participan o administran programas del USDA discriminen sobre la base de raza, color, nacionalidad, sexo, discapacidad, edad, o en represalia o venganza por actividades previas de derechos civiles en algún programa o actividad realizados o financiados por el USDA.
Las personas con discapacidades que necesiten medios alternativos para la comunicación de la información del programa (por ejemplo, sistema Braille, letras grandes, cintas de audio, lenguaje de señas americano, etc.), deben ponerse en contacto con la agencia (estatal o local) en la que solicitaron los beneficios. Las personas sordas, con dificultades de audición o discapacidades del habla pueden comunicarse con el USDA por medio del Federal Relay Service [Servicio Federal de Retransmisión] al (800) 877-8339. Además, la información del programa se puede proporcionar en otros idiomas.
Para presentar una denuncia de discriminación, complete el Formulario de Denuncia de Discriminación del Programa del USDA, (AD-3027) que está disponible en línea en: How to File a Complaint. y en cualquier oficina del USDA, o bien escriba una carta dirigida al USDA e incluya en la carta toda la información solicitada en el formulario. Para solicitar una copia del formulario de denuncia, llame al (866) 632-9992. Haga llegar su formulario lleno o carta al USDA por:
(1)        correo: U.S. Department of Agriculture
Office of the Assistant Secretary for Civil Rights
1400 Independence Avenue, SW
Washington, D.C. 20250-9410;
(2)        fax: (202) 690-7442; o
(3)        correo electrónico: program.intake@usda.gov.
Esta institución es un proveedor que ofrece igualdad de oportunidades.