Lincoln Elementary School District 27

Lincoln, Illinois

How Lincoln 27 Transformed School Meals, From 100% Processed to Fresh, Scratch-Cooked Food

A replicable systems-change model improving student nutrition, participation, and community impact.

The Challenge

For years, Lincoln 27 meals relied on almost entirely processed foods. Leadership knew that well-fed children learn better, behave better, and perform better but the kitchens, staffing, and systems were built for convenience, not real cooking.

Shifting to scratch cooking required a completely new approach: new skills, new sourcing, new recipes, and new operational systems.

The Opportunity

Lincoln 27 saw scratch cooking as the next evolution of its wellness efforts, a chance to serve more nutrient-dense meals, increase participation, and build a model that could spread across districts statewide.

The district also understood the business case: better meals → higher participation → stronger reimbursement.

“We jumped at the chance to build a sustainable project other districts can adopt.”

Our Approach

  • Culinary Skills Training

    Hands-on coaching to help staff shift from reheating to real cooking.

  • Menu Redesign

    Fresher, nutrient-dense meals kids actually enjoy.

  • Scratch Cooking Systems

    Recipes, batch-cooking routines, and workflow improvements.

  • Local & Fresh Procurement

    Support to source fresh ingredients within a cost-neutral model.

  • Stakeholder Engagement

    Bringing administrators, cooks, principals, and partners together.

  • Budget-Conscious Transition

    Equipment, purchasing, and participation strategies that protect the bottom line.

Early Outcomes

  • Students are responding to fresher, better-tasting meals.

  • Higher-quality meals are anticipated to drive steady increases in reimbursement.

  • Staff report pride, teamwork, and a renewed sense of purpose.

  • Fresh, local ingredients bring more regional producers into the school ecosystem.

  • Lincoln 27 now demonstrates how small districts can successfully shift from processed to scratch cooking.

“Moving from convenience foods to scratch cooking is tough — but worthwhile.”

Supported by the ALMH Foundation.
Powered by SFIA’s national model for scratch-cooked school meals.

“We could not have done this without the ALMH Foundation’s support.”