Executive Summary
Case for Support A Prospectus for Collective Impact and Sustainable Change Collective Power for Healthier School Meals:
The Urban School Food Alliance (The Alliance) is a 501(c)(3) nonprofit founded in 2012 by school nutrition leaders from the nation’s largest urban districts. Our mission is to leverage the collective voice, expertise, and purchasing power of major urban school food programs to deliver high-quality, nutritious meals that support student health, learning, and lifelong success . We believe every child deserves access to meals that nourish both body and mind, and that true transformation happens when districts work together. Today, The Alliance unites 19 major urban school districts serving 3.8 million students across 6,889 schools and delivering 657 million meals annually, backed by a combined purchasing power of $1.35 billion . Through shared procurement standards, best-practice toolkits, policy advocacy, and innovative pilots such as Boost the Roost (our successful No Antibiotic Ever chicken initiative), we are raising the bar on what school meals can and should be. Supporting The Alliance means investing in far more than one organization. By aligning these large, influential districts, we create market demand and practical solutions that ripple far beyond our membership. When The Alliance members unite behind higher standards, like NAE chicken or increased local procurement, we shift supply chains, lower costs, and increase availability of healthier options for districts of every size nationwide. Our collective action serves as a catalyst for sustainable, scalable change that benefits millions of additional students in smaller and rural districts who lack the same resources or influence. We invite funders and partners who share our commitment to child nutrition, education equity, and systems-level impact to join us. Your support will strengthen this growing collective, accelerate innovation in school food, and help ensure that high-quality meals drive better health and academic outcomes for students in urban communities, and set a new standard for the entire country.
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Collective Power for Healthier School Meals: Case for Support
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