Shared Plate Strategies

10/27/2026

We're proud to share two well-earned promotions at Shared Plate Strategies! 🎉

Please join us in congratulating Tim Wilkinson on becoming our Vice President of Operations, and Chris Arentz on becoming our Director of Operations.

Tim has been central to how we serve our school district partners. He keeps our engagements running smoothly and our team focused on what matters most: helping districts get more value for every dollar so students eat well. In his new role, Tim will lead our operations strategy as we keep growing.

Chris brings real care and precision to everything he does, from managing complex procurements to supporting clients day to day. As Director of Operations, he'll help shape the systems and processes that let our team do its best work.

These promotions reflect the dedication Tim and Chris show every day, to our clients and to each other. We're grateful to have them leading the way.

Congratulations, Tim and Chris!

10/21/2026

Congrats to our clients at Lawndale ESD! Check out this blog about their farm-to-school program and the grant they received to expand and incorporate scratch cooking!

Lawndale Elementary School District (ESD) in Los Angeles County is utilizing $200,000 in CDFA Farm to School Incubator Grant funding to expand its 15-year-strong farm to school program. In particular, CDFA funding is helping the district expand procurement of California-grown items and create a Central Kitchen team to focus on scratch cooking.

Lawndale ESD’s Nutrition & Wellness Services Department served 979,820 meals, or about 5,443 meals a day, in the 2025-26 school year. During that time and continuing, the team worked to highlight student voice and choice in the recipe development process to bring culturally relevant and appealing recipes to school menus. This partnership yielded items like a Pollo Asado Bowl (Fire Grilled Chicken), Pozole Verde with Chicken (Tomatillo Hominy Stew with Chicken), Spicy and Cheesy Bean Dip, herby and fresh Buttermilk Ranch and Chocolate Chip Muffins, and more.

“The past two years have been filled with interesting and productive experiences where we have advanced and continue to grow and incorporate new recipes,” Lawndale ESD Central Kitchen Production Chef Sandra Orozco said. “We find new success each time we see our students smile. It’s a sign of their gratitude and appreciation for the work that we do.”

Lawndale ESD’s farm to school efforts include providing experiential learning opportunities like cooking and gardening to students in their pre-kindergarten-through-8th-grade urban district with an enrollment of about 4,300 students. Officials appreciate CDFA grant funding allowing them to strengthen the local economy through purchasing more produce from neighboring small farmers.

“We’ve also been able to make the Central Kitchen team a permanent part of operations,” Lawndale ESD Nutrition & Wellness Services Director Lissette Rooney added about benefits of the funding. “This ensures that high-quality, scratch-made meals and California-grown and produced items will continue to be featured in the thousands of meals that are prepared and served each school day.”

October is National Farm to School Month! Join us and thousands of schools, early care and education sites, farms, communities and organizations across the country as we celebrate food education, school gardens and lunch trays filled with healthy, local ingredients.

Photo caption: (Left, L-R) Lawndale Elementary School District (ESD) Central Kitchen’s Production Chef Sandra Orozco and Doreyda Gonzalez-Davila are able to provide school meals made from scratch in part from CDFA Farm to School Incubator Grant funding. (Right) Lawndale ESD’s work to highlight student voice and choice in recipe development led to this preferred Pozole Verde with Chicken dish being enjoyed by Will Rogers Middle School students.

https://plantingseedsblog.cdfa.ca.gov/index.php/2026/10/20/cdfa-funding-helps-lawndale-esd-incorporate-scratch-cooking-into-its-15-year-strong-farm-to-school-program/

10/20/2026

We were proud to be part of the 2026 California Farm to School Summit at hosted by !

Surrounded by gardens and fields, California’s farm to school community came together to share ideas, build connections, and celebrate the people working to improve the health of our children, our farms, and our future.

From fresh, California-grown food to hands-on experiences and inspiring conversations, the Summit highlighted the creativity and collaboration driving this work forward.

We’re grateful to be part of a community that’s strengthening connections between schools, farmers, and local food systems across California. Thanks to everyone helping make farm to school a reality!

📸 Here are a few highlight photos from Ben and Tamara.

10/15/2026

🍎🥕 We love California Crunch!

On October 7, our team joined with California Crunch to celebrate local farms, fresh fruits and veggies, and the people working to bring good food to our communities.

This event is especially close to our hearts: our founder, Ben, helped get the California Crunch started! 💚 We’re proud to keep the tradition going and to support stronger connections between California farmers, schools, and the communities they feed.

Thanks to everyone who took a bite and to for helping bring us together!

10/12/2026

The National Farm to School Network Partner meeting kicks off this week in Sacramento, California! Shared Plate Strategies team members, Ben Lucas Thomas, Tamara Masru, and Eva Knezic will be presenting procurement best practices.

09/30/2026

Big things are happening in school food! 🌱

We’re excited to celebrate the launch of the Conscious Organic School Food Purchasing Cooperative, the first of its kind in the nation!

Bringing school districts together to make organic food more affordable, support local farmers and food makers, and create a stronger, more values-driven food system.

We’re so happy to be part of this work!



Learn more at www.consciouskitchen.org/consciouscoop!

09/28/2026

🌱 Farm to CACFP Week is coming October 18–24!

October is a wonderful time to celebrate the connection between local farms, fresh food, and the children and communities we serve.
At Shared Plate Strategies, we’re excited to support the work happening across child nutrition and early care programs to make local food more accessible, meaningful, and delicious.

Let’s celebrate the farmers, food professionals, educators, caregivers, and communities helping bring farm to table, and farm to learning. 💚

What local farm-to-school connection are you celebrating this October?

09/20/2026

What a fun day in SLO! 🎨
Shared Plate Strategies along with Katie McGrath of Badger Branding were thrilled to partner in the chalk art event downtown. Talented students from Hawthorne Elementary joined in to bring the artwork to life!Creativity, community, and a whole lot of color! 🌈

09/13/2026

From farm to school and everything in between!

What a wonderful evening at the Morgan Hill Unified School District FarmTech for a dinner of gratitude. Host Michael Jock and his team set the stage for a beautiful evening of delicious, entirely K-12 compliant food.
There’s something pretty magical about gathering around a table and knowing that the food, the people the land and the learning are all connected.
A heartfelt thank you to our host for creating such a thoughtful experience and for showcasing the incredible work happening at FarmTech and in agricultural education. It was a fantastic reminder that when we invest in students, agriculture, food, and community, we’re cultivating so much more than a meal… we’re cultivating the future!
Grateful for the conversations, the connection connections and the opportunity to experience farm to school in such a meaningful way. Here’s to good food, great people and growing something better!

08/15/2026

🌈 A little magic from our San Luis Obispo office…

That one time we looked outside and found a double rainbow stretching across the sky, it was practically coming out of our office! A pretty great reminder to pause, look up, and appreciate the little moments.