When students in the Mission Bay Cluster returned to their campuses for the 2026-27 school year, they were greeted by an expanded food menu.
It was redesigned to reflect “the district’s commitment to providing students with meals they enjoy while supporting learning, wellness and academic achievement,” San Diego Unified School District officials stated in a press release.
Pacific Beach Middle School seventh grader Kolton Hughes agrees.
Pacific Beach Middle School seventh grader Kolton Hughes holding his lunch. (Cyril A Reinicke)
“When kids have a better lunch they will learn better in the afternoon,” Kolton said, adding his favorite entrees are the orange chicken and rice, hamburger and salads.
Within the last five years a huge shift in food and nutrition services was embraced by SDUSD.
“(In 2021), Governor Newsom signed a landmark piece of legislation into law, making California the first state in the nation to implement a universal free school meal program for all public school students,” said Leslie Luna from the district’s Food and Nutrition Services program.
“In 2024, San Diego Unified’s school lunch program was rebranded as ‘Sandi Coast Cafe’ with a commitment to source, prepare and serve tasty, nutritious meals that students enjoy and want to eat, staff takes pride in, parents trust to nourish their children, educators value to fuel their learners and our community celebrates for its excellence,” Luna said.
Pacific Beach Middle School sixth grader Aurora Sesenbach with her lunch. (Cyril A Reinicke)
Pacific Beach Middle School sixth grader Aurora Sesenbach agreed.
“We moved last summer from Minnesota. I love the meals at PBMS,” Aurora said, adding her favorite is chicken strips with onion rings. “The food is so much better here than at my previous school.”
PB Middle School cafeteria manager Robin Lujan said they serve approximately 75 to 90 breakfasts and 250 to 300 lunches each day.
“Popular breakfast items are pancakes and mini waffles,” Lujan said. “Popular lunch items include chicken tenders with onion rings and hot dogs with Toastitos whole grain honey BBQ chips.”
During Back to School Night at Mission Bay High, parents were able to sample Sandi Coast Cafe lunch menu items.
“We wanted the parents to sample our new menu items,” said Jolan Rakowsi, MBHS cafe manager. “We are very proud of the variety and freshness and unique flavors of the foods we offer our students each day.”
Mission Bay High junior Zara Hedley selected the chicken entree. Also offered were fresh fish tacos and fresh pork carnitas burritos. (Cyril A Reinicke)
The high school students have also noticed a change.
“In the last three to four years the food has definitely improved for us at school,” said Mission Bay High senior Brandon Melendez. “The freshness, the fruit, the variety … I really like the chicken.”
MBHS freshman Caleb Vega said “the quality, the variety and freshness of the food available at Mission Bay is really good.”
Lunch at Mission Bay High is a busy time. Four serving lines provide quick service every day. (Cyril A Reinicke)
Sandi Coast Cafe serves approximately 95,000 meals daily across 205 campuses. This includes 35,000 breakfasts, 51,000 lunches and 9,000 suppers. Over the current school year, the department is preparing to serve more than 17 million healthy meals.
While breakfast and lunch have become regular offerings at schools, a supper program is less common. The supper program is offered in conjunction with the PrimeTime Program for students in transitional kindergarten through eighth grade. The program provides an engaging environment where students can strengthen their academic skills and participate in fun enrichment activities in art, science, music and athletics while improving social skills.
Luna said funding for such an ambitious food and nutrition program “comes from the blending of federal and state dollars. California’s Universal Meals Program builds on the federal National School Lunch Program and School Breakfast Program and rests on three pillars: a state mandate requiring districts to offer free breakfast and lunch to all students; a requirement that high-poverty schools participate in a federal provision (the Community Eligibility Provision); and state reimbursement funding allocated by the Legislature to cover the program’s cost.
“Our supper program is funded by the Child and Adult Care Food Program,” Luna added.
This school year, students aren’t just enjoying new menus — they’re helping create them.
Patsy Stallings brought her great-grandchildren, kindergartener Micah Coste and first grader Mylene Coste, early to Sessions Elementary so they could eat breakfast before their classes. (Cyril A Reinicke)
Two student-developed recipes will be featured in cafeterias across the district, showcasing student creativity, district officials said. The new student-inspired entrées were developed in response to feedback from the district’s nutrition survey.
The Hot Honey Chicken Bowl with Fried Rice, a brand-new entrée developed by culinary students at Morse High School, will be offered on secondary menus. Joining it is Ava’s Avocado Salad, created by a Correia Middle School student during a previous student recipe contest. The recipe has been brought back from the archives and refreshed for this school year.
“Food brings people together, and we want every student to feel cared for when they join us for a meal,” said Alicia Pitrone Hauser, executive director of Food and Nutrition Services.