Large scale initiatives, like Boost the Roost, would not be possible without forming partnerships with organizations that hold shared values. Dr. Katie Wilson sat down with Valeria La Rosa, Program Director at Life Time Foundation to discuss working together on this...
“We have to continue the advocacy for NAE chicken and clean labels in our schools and the healthy use of antibiotics.”Dr. Jason Newland, MD, MEd, Nationwide Children’s First, and most important - we want to make it clear that the Urban School food Alliance is...
The initial goal of the Boost the Roost pilot project was to position USFA as a disruptor in the marketplace, changing the way schools purchase chicken products to encourage a more efficient, process-driven procurement approach, driving out non-value-added costs. The...
The procurement, purchasing, and delivery of nearly 1 million pounds of clean label, No Antibiotic Ever chicken proves that there is strength in numbers. Collectively the member districts of the Urban School Food Alliance purchase nearly one billion...
Since 2014 the Urban School Food Alliance has been committed to purchasing No Antibiotic Ever (NAE) Chicken and this project put our promise into action. As we set out to develop the products for the Boost the Roost Chicken Pilot we focused on two specific sets of...
WHY NOW? Behind the Boost the Roost Initiative through the Urban School Food Alliance (USFA) is a much-needed thought shift in how we talk about and handle procurement. The leadership team and members of the Alliance have coined the phrase, “Transformational...
Reflections on the 2025 Winter Member Meeting: A Gathering of Collaboration and Innovation February marked the 2025 Winter Member Meeting, the bi-annual event that brought together members from districts across the country, Alliance leadership, and select industry...
On April 22-26, the Urban School Food Alliance hosted its second Cooking for Healthy Kids culinary skills training at the Culinary Institute of America’s San Antonio Campus. School nutrition staff, including chefs, dietitians, and culinary trainers, from 14 districts...
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The latest news and headlines from Urban School Food Alliance
Smithsonian Magazine: American Schools Have Been Feeding Children for More Than 100 Years. Here’s How the School Lunch Has Changed
May 13, 2025
A new exhibition in Philadelphia spotlights the evolution of American nutritional health through a unique lens:...
HuffPost: I Randomly Decided To Pay Off A School’s Lunch Debt. Then Something Incredible Happened.
May 5, 2025
The thing about witnessing a 7-year-old having their hot lunch tray yanked away and replaced with a cold sandwich...
Urban School Food Alliance Welcomes Aldine ISD, Leveraging Larger Collective Voice to Transform School Meals
Apr 28, 2025
Washington D.C. – April 28, 2025 – The Urban School Food Alliance (USFA), a powerhouse coalition of the nation’s...
Urban School Food Alliance Releases 2024 Annual Report Highlighting Progress in School Meal Programs Across the Nation
Feb 27, 2025
Washington D.C. – February 24, 2025 – The Urban School Food Alliance (USFA), a coalition of the nation’s largest...