Nothing beats a good made-from-scratch home-cooked meal, and Beaufort County Schools is set to redefine its lunch programs in cafeterias countywide through participation in a national grant program called Get Schools Cooking.

The award comes through the Chef Ann Foundation, a nonprofit organization that works with school districts nationwide to create healthier menus. Over the course of the next three years, the program will help the district focus on offering a self-operated, sustainably run, scratch-cook meal program.

“We do cook quite a bit from scratch, more than a lot of cafeterias around us,” explained Gwyn Roberson-McBride, BCS child nutrition director. “What we would like to do is work with professionals to enhance our recipes, incorporate more local foods and serve more fresh foods in our schools.”

The program kicks off Feb. 26 with a workshop in Boulder, Colorado, where food service directors and other key team members from each district will engage in sessions about menu planning, financial modeling and human resources. They’ll also visit school kitchens and cafeterias in Boulder Valley School District, a leader in school food change.

Over the course of the next 18 months, BCS will go through an assessment of its meal program, resulting in a report and recommendations for change. This is followed by a presentation with district administration and strategic planning, virtual and onsite technical assistance and an additional $35,000 for purchases such as software, equipment and yearly evaluations.

“The first piece of it is having professionals from the school nutrition, culinary and finance worlds come in and look at your program as a whole,” Roberson-McBride said. “With the $35,000, we’re looking at purchasing equipment like steamers to cook our food in a healthier way.”

It’s a goal Roberson-McBride says she wants to see local farmers and chefs help with. BCS already buys fresh food from Southside Farms and is in the process of talking with other local farms such as Deep Roots Farm on the steps necessary to sell to local schools. She also hopes local chefs will help teach cafeteria staff some new ways of cooking.

“We have a lot of chefs who can really cook, locally,” Roberson-McBride said. “We’re hoping that they will be interested in coming into the school system and helping make our food taste a lot better and be healthier for students.”

Overall, it’s that nutritional piece that she hopes to see benefit students the most. With healthier, tastier foods, the idea is that students will be able to do better in the classroom.

“A healthy, full child is able to learn and concentrate on what they need to in the classroom,” Roberson-McBride said. “We’re trying to find a happy medium in the cafeteria where we can touch their taste buds and find a taste palate they will come in and enjoy — whatever it takes to get something in their stomachs to get their brains working.”