At Evanston Township High School (ETHS), meals are a big production. That’s because the school has four student cafeterias that its central kitchen serves, along with a cafeteria for staff, 12 elementary schools in a separate district and four area daycares. Combined, these schools and daycares have over 5,000 attendees with around 40% participating in the lunch program throughout the school...
Due to labor shortages, many K-12 kitchens struggle to provide from-scratch meals to students. Some of these kitchens also may not be designed with the equipment needed to properly support a scratch cooking model. However, there are grants and assistance programs available to support school districts with a move toward school menu planning that incorporates fresh fruits, vegetables and proteins.
Commercial kitchens come in all sizes, but it’s not uncommon for independent restaurants to have smaller ones. According to Webstaurant, commercial kitchens range from 500 to 2,000 square feet with anything less than 500 square feet considered small. That space comes with certain advantages and disadvantages.
