ScratchWorks Blog, August 2025 By Abby de Riel We sat down with RJ Lane, District Chef of West Contra Costa Unified School District in the Bay Area of California, who is the newest Advisory Committee Member of ScratchWorks. Voted in this August, RJ first came to ScratchWorks in the 2023 Gathering in Austin and foundContinue reading “ScratchWorks Welcomes a New Advisory Committee Member, RJ Lane”
Author Archives: scratchworksadmin
Second ScratchWorks Gathering in Minneapolis, Minnesota, Brings Over 100 School Food Professionals Together to Increase Scratch Cooking in Schools
ScratchWorks Blog, June 2025 By Abby de Riel ScratchWorks is supported thanks to generous funding from the Chef Ann Foundation, From Now On Fund, Life Time Foundation, Newman’s Own Foundation, Wellness in the Schools, and Whole Kids Foundation. We are proud to report that 105 food service professionals from 80 school districts across the countryContinue reading “Second ScratchWorks Gathering in Minneapolis, Minnesota, Brings Over 100 School Food Professionals Together to Increase Scratch Cooking in Schools”
The Ingredient Guide for Better School Food Purchasing: Interview with Bertrand Weber, Director of Culinary and Wellness Services for Minneapolis Public Schools, Minnesota
ScratchWorks Blog, March 2025 By Abby de Riel We sat down with Bertrand Weber, Director of Culinary and Wellness Services for Minneapolis Public Schools, whose career spans more than 35 years of combined management experience in the hospitality industry and school food service. He initiated one of Minnesota’s first Farm to School programs, brought saladContinue reading “The Ingredient Guide for Better School Food Purchasing: Interview with Bertrand Weber, Director of Culinary and Wellness Services for Minneapolis Public Schools, Minnesota”
Interview with Julianna Carvi, Food Service Director of Bexley City Schools, Ohio
Interview with Julianna Carvi, Food Service Director of Bexley City Schools, Ohio ScratchWorks Blog, December 2024 By Abby de Riel We sat down with Julianna Carvi, Food Service Director of Bexley City Schools, Ohio, to talk about the importance of scratch cooking. A staff member of Wellness in the Schools, a founding ScratchWorks organization, interviewed JuliannaContinue reading “Interview with Julianna Carvi, Food Service Director of Bexley City Schools, Ohio”
Interview with Chris Tricarico, Senior Executive Director of NYC Public Schools Office of Food and Nutrition Services
ScratchWorks Blog, September 2024 By Abby de Riel We sat down with Chris Tricarico, Senior Executive Director of the Office of Food and Nutrition Services (OFNS) at NYC Public Schools, a founding ScratchWorks district, to talk about the importance of scratch cooking and highlight the OFNS/Chefs in the Schools partnership. A staff member of WellnessContinue reading “Interview with Chris Tricarico, Senior Executive Director of NYC Public Schools Office of Food and Nutrition Services”
ScratchWorks’ New Speaker Series Highlights Culinary Training
ScratchWorks Blog, May 2024 By Abby de Riel Following a successful Inaugural Gathering in Spring 2023 and much collaboration between food service directors, one of ScratchWorks’ three pillars — Shared Learning — is continuing the conversation. ScratchWorks participants from school districts around the country are sharing best practices and supporting each other to advance schoolContinue reading “ScratchWorks’ New Speaker Series Highlights Culinary Training”
ScratchWorks Welcomes Six New Advisory Committee Members
This year, six new members joined the ScratchWorks Advisory Committee. Founding organizations and districts are thoughtfully creating this diverse and knowledgeable team of school food professionals nationwide to operate the ScratchWorks Collective with additional input from Participants. We welcome new members below with lightly edited conversations Kelsey Berrini Assistant Director of Nutrition ServicesEvanston Township HighContinue reading “ScratchWorks Welcomes Six New Advisory Committee Members”
Coming Together
Coming Together ScratchWorks is a collective of school food professionals and nonprofit organizations committed to supporting school districts in cooking meals from scratch using whole, fresh ingredients, providing students with the nutrition they need for their educational success, health, and wellbeing. ScratchWorks began in the spring of 2019 with a commitment from six food serviceContinue reading “Coming Together”
ScratchWorks Announces Policy Priorities on White House Conference on Food, Nutrition, Hunger, and Health
ScratchWorks Announces Policy Priorities on White House Conference on Food, Nutrition, Hunger, and Health ScratchWorks applauds the White House for prioritizing food and nutrition through the commitment of a Conference to bring our countries’ stakeholders together to find solutions to “End hunger and increase healthy eating and physical activity by 2030, so that fewer AmericansContinue reading “ScratchWorks Announces Policy Priorities on White House Conference on Food, Nutrition, Hunger, and Health”
Interview with Andrew Benson, Executive Chef and Director of Food Services and Founding Member of ScratchWorks
Interview with Andrew Benson, Executive Chef and Director of Food Services and Founding Member of ScratchWorks Founding members of ScratchWorks Nancy Easton and Andrew Benson sat down to talk about the importance of scratch cooking. Nancy, Co-Founder and Executive Director of Wellness in the Schools, interviewed Andrew, Executive Chef and Director of Food Services, toContinue reading “Interview with Andrew Benson, Executive Chef and Director of Food Services and Founding Member of ScratchWorks”