“The impact has been significant and sustained. Before Café Lagunitas, fewer than 15% of students participated in school lunch. Following the transformation, participation rose to over 85% and has remained at that level, with individual days exceeding 90%. For me, that is one of the clearest measures of success: students are choosing to eat the food. Café Lagunitas demonstrates what is possible when schools, farmers, food producers, and community partners work together to make fresh, local, organic food both accessible and operationally feasible nourishing students, strengthening regional food systems, and changing the food system, one recipe at a time.”