Food truck set to transform school lunch experience at Windsor’s Cali Calmecac

Food trucks are a popular go-to for lunch on the go. Come this school year, middle school students at Windsor’s Cali Calmecac Language Academy will get to enjoy the action, too, with the arrival of a new food truck on campus.

Called the Cruisin’ Cafe, the food truck aims to get more seventh- and eighth-grade students to eat lunch during school, says Windsor Unified School District’s Director of Food and Nutrition Services Jennifer Baker.

“The middle school students have a hard time getting in line and getting a good break,” Baker said. “Often they don’t get lunch at all.”

And, unlike food truck lunches outside school, students won’t have to pay anything for their meals. Under state law, school breakfasts and lunches are free to all students, regardless of income level.

Older students at Cali Calmecac, which serves transitional kindergarten through eighth grade students, will get to choose from items available at the food truck. It will be stationed near the middle school area of campus, so students won’t have to spend as much time walking across campus or waiting in line for lunch.

The Cruisin’ Cafe, Baker explained, is technically smaller than a typical food truck and is actually an electric vehicle. It is equipped with doors that open on both sides and is outfitted with hot and cold boxes that keep food, a total of about 200 meals in all, at the proper temperature.

The new options will be a boon for the older students at Cali Calmecac, who are usually limited to a food menu meant for elementary school students, Baker said.

Since the meals will be prepared at Windsor Middle School then driven over to Cali Calmecac, the food truck will also help alleviate the workload of Cali Calmecac’s kitchen staff. Last May, the school kitchen produced 12,869 lunches, Baker said.

About 1,186 students attend Cali Calmecac, according to the latest data.

“It’s more than the high school,” Baker said of the number of lunches. “It’s a very large campus.”

Baker estimates the Cruisin’ Cafe cost around $80,000, but she noted the school district was awarded grant funding that was put toward the purchase of the vehicle, which is manufactured by ServeSmart, a school-focused food service company based out of El Cajon, California.

Amie Windsor is the Community Journalism Team Lead with The Press Democrat. She can be reached at amie.windsor@pressdemocrat.com or 707-521-5218.