Students at a South Bay school district got a major meal upgrade.
Food at Los Gatos High School is so good, that it’s now spreading to the entire district.
"The food was all of the sudden transformed from heat and serve pre-packaged food, to cook from scratch, healthy, locally sourced food,” said Kristi Grasty, assistant principal at Los Gatos High.
She has spent years on the food project there, working with students and eventually hiring a $160,000-a-year chef consultant to improve the meals.
Get a weekly recap of the latest San Francisco Bay Area housing news. Sign up for NBC Bay Area’s Housing Deconstructed newsletter.
She said she’s seen the difference in the students -- all 900 in the public school district -- get fresh food daily.
"Every student is entitled to free breakfast and lunch, and because the food is already so good, we've had high interest, students stay on campus more, and it matches what they're learning in our environmental science classes,” Grasty said.
The money comes largely from federal funds and any school district can do it.
Local
Maya Haylock, now studying at UC Berkeley, helped get the program off the ground when she was a student at Los Gatos High.
"I remember everyone would rush in their cars and try to go elsewhere for lunch, and it just sparked this want to have people want to stay on campus and to be able to get the food they're looking for,” said Haylock.
And the verdict among the hungry high schoolers?
"I feel like, when you get a good plate here, and it's really good quality, you feel a lot better throughout the day,” said student Henry Anslinger.
