Scratch-made meals are a part of many people’s ideal school nutrition program vision board, but the logistics of implementing more scratch-cooking can be a challenge. Thankfully, you don’t have to take on everything all at once. Plus, most importantly, you have peers in the school nutrition community who have found success with scratch-made meals that you can turn to for resources, advice and inspiration.

In this SN Plus, you’ll learn how Chef and School Foodservice Director Maraiah Popeleski-Tilley successfully transitioned her district to majority scratch-cooking and how to make it work for your program—even if you’re starting completely from scratch.

School Nutrition thanks Smart Swaps for its generous support in making this article available.

cover of SN Plus March 2026 "Scratch-Made Success"

Resource Type


Year Added

2026

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