-Riverside Unified School District

The Riverside Unified School District opened its pilot farm to school salad bar program in March of 2005 at Jefferson Elementary School and now serves students at 26 of the district's elementary schools. The district has a plan to roll out the farm to school program to all of the elementary schools, 31 sites, by the end of November 2009. The farm fresh salad bar is offered each day, students choose between a hot lunch entrée and the salad bar. The district has fed over half a million salad bar meals in 2008/2009 school year and it is anticipating to feed ¾ million by the year 2010.

The district receives produce from local growers who grow within one hour of the district. Riverside Unified School District has partnered with the Center for Food and Justice, UEPI, Occidental College, the Desert Sierra Health Network, Riverside County Department of Public Health, San Bernardino County Department of Public Health, the American Cancer Society, the California Endowment, the Dairy Council of California, Kaiser Permanente, the California Nutrition Network, University of North Carolina, Loma Linda University, Utah State University, and Chaffey College to conduct nutrition education activities such as classroom nutrition education, farm tours, farmers' market field trips, farmer in the classroom presentations, school gardens, Regional workshops, site tours (to see the Farmers’ Market Salad Bar), program evaluations, and Harvest of the Month taste tests at the school. The pilot program at Jefferson was made possible through funding from the California Endowment and the California Nutrition Network and is supported by a partnership with the Center for Food & Justice at Occidental College.

Rodney Taylor, the RUSD Student Nutrition Director is the former Food Service Director from the Santa Monica Malibu School District. Riverside Unified School District’s salad bar program has been recognized nationally and internationally.

Contact

http://www.rusd.k12.ca.us/
Rodney Taylor
6050 Industrial Ave
Riverside, 92504
Phone: (951) 352-6740 x110
rktaylor@rusd.k12.ca.us