The new food truck will serve up healthy dishes including tacos, salads and fruit. (photo courtesy of the Los Angeles Unified School District)

In alignment with Superintendent Alberto M. Carvalho’s 2022-26 Strategic Plan, the Los Angeles Unified School District will introduce a new food truck to its Café L.A. food services program, enabling schools to celebrate student achievement with healthy and delicious meals.

“There is no better addition to a celebration than a food truck serving what kids want to eat,” Carvalho said. “With our new Café L.A. food truck, we’ll have another avenue to provide free and nutritious meals for students. It is essential that we meet students where they are with fun and engaging meals to ensure that all kids have the nourishment they need to reach their full academic potential.”

Los Angeles Unified’s new food truck will be able to serve up to 400 students at a time during special school celebrations, with unique menu items designed to be fun and engaging for students. The self-contained kitchen facility can serve a variety of menu items, including chicken wings, hamburgers, a variety of tacos, dumplings, loaded nachos, vegan options, salads and fruit.

“Our partnership with No Kid Hungry has enabled Food Services to add a new dimension to our operation in alignment with Superintendent Carvalho’s Strategic Plan,” LAUSD director of food services Manish Singh said. “This new food truck amplifies our commitment to provide fresh and innovative meals, contributing to student wellness by attracting more secondary students to participate in California’s Universal Meals program.”

Funded by a donation from No Kid Hungry with supplemental funding provided by the California Department of Education’s Kitchen Infrastructure and Training fund, this new food truck will travel to schools on request to celebrate academic excellence and achievement. Meals will be funded by federal funding facilitated by the state.

The district will introduce three additional food trucks by the end of 2024, allowing each LAUSD region to have its own dedicated food truck. The introduction of a new food truck highlights LAUSD’s historic and ongoing investments to ensure that students are fed fresh, healthy and nutritious meals. The district has committed significant investments to support more scratch cooking at schools, including a $7 million investment in combination ovens and a $30 million investment in commercial-grade air conditioning equipment in cafeteria kitchens.

Café L.A. – as the district’s food services division is widely known – maintains an ongoing partnership with the Culinary Institute of America and the California Department of Education, empowering the food services staff with industry-leading culinary practices to bring more fresh cooking to school kitchens.

Overseeing one of the largest school meal programs in the nation, Café LA serves 525,000 meals daily with 3,600 kitchen staff and 200 support staff across LAUSD. Café LA serves meals that meet and exceed USDA’s dietary guidelines for Americans.

“It makes such a difference for our students when we can give them meals that aren’t just healthy and nutritious but delicious — it enriches the soul,” LAUSD Board President Jackie Goldberg said. “I’m very happy about the direction our District’s culinary services are headed in, and I’m excited to see this new truck in action at a school celebration.”