Ojai Unified School District

Ojai’s rapidly expanding lunchtime salad bar has been successful in exposing students to healthy food choices and good eating habits. Through a partnership with Food For Thought program the weekly salad bar is now available at three schools in the district. Topa Topa Elementary School was the first in the district to implement a salad bar lunch program. To get started they fundraised $25,000 from local businesses, the Homeland Foundation, and the UC Hansen Trust to cover the costs of buying equipment, farm visits, and gardening supplies. The program has since attracted the attention of such organizations as Slow Food USA, which helped to raise an additional $10,000 for Food For Thought. Money is still needed to fully develop the program to the nutrition education, permanent salad bar, and garden program desired by the district.