Students across Littleton Public Schools are seeing more Colorado-grown and locally produced foods on their trays, thanks to the work of LPS Nutrition Services and funding through a Colorado Department of Education grant.
The state grant helps LPS purchase qualifying Colorado products, connecting school meals with farmers, ranchers, growers, and food producers from across the state. The result is an expanding selection of fresh ingredients that Nutrition Services can incorporate into meals students already know and enjoy.
From Colorado pears, apples, and peaches to zucchini, purple cauliflower, rainbow carrots, tomatoes, squash, potatoes, beets, cabbage, lettuce, beans, peppers, and more, local ingredients are finding their way into LPS cafeterias.
And it isn’t just produce.
LPS also purchases from Colorado businesses and producers including Raquelitas for tortillas, Rocky Mountain Spice Company for spices, Wild Boyd Farms for sausage, St. Michaels Farm for honey, and Bamber Ranch for beef.
That local beef, for example, is incorporated into student favorites such as straw hat, tacos, chili, and saucy Joe. Colorado honey is used in vinaigrette, while local beans become fiesta black beans and homestyle pinto beans. Carrots, peas, onions, peppers, and other vegetables make their way into recipes such as chicken pot pie.
Nutrition Services also plans to roast local peppers in September to create green chile sauce for future meals.
Fresher food, closer to home
Buying locally can benefit students in several ways. With less time between the farm and a student’s tray, produce can be served closer to peak ripeness, supporting better flavor and texture. Shorter transportation distances and less handling can also help maintain freshness, while reducing the amount of time between harvest and consumption can help preserve nutrients that may decline during extended storage.
The impact extends beyond LPS cafeterias. Grant funds are specifically used to purchase qualifying Colorado products, helping keep those dollars within the state’s economy and supporting Colorado businesses and agricultural producers.
The Central Production Kitchen makes more possible
LPS’s Central Production Kitchen at Twain plays an important role in making the district’s growing use of fresh and local ingredients possible.
Since launching the production kitchen in 2025, Nutrition Services has begun receiving multiple produce deliveries each week with a focus on getting fresh foods out to schools. The facility also gives the district the ability to process and freeze ingredients while they are available for use in recipes later in the school year.
Carrots and onions, for example, can be processed and frozen for future batches of chicken pot pie or straw hat.
The work doesn’t end when food leaves the Central Production Kitchen. Nutrition Services teams at individual schools prepare produce and complete final quality checks before serving it to students, making cafeteria staff an essential part of bringing Colorado foods to LPS tables.
Helping students make the connection
Nutrition Services is also working to help students and families recognize when locally sourced foods are part of school meals. Local ingredients have been highlighted through weekly menu posts on social media (follow Nutrition Services on Facebook and Instagram!), and the department plans to continue those features and add information on flyers in schools. Nutrition Services is also exploring ways to enhance information for students as they move through cafeteria lines, recognizing that menu-board availability varies among schools.
This fall, students will have another opportunity to celebrate Colorado-grown food when LPS participates in the Colorado Crunch Off on October 19, highlighting local produce and support for Colorado farmers.
Whether it’s Colorado beef in a taco, local honey in a vinaigrette, fresh vegetables in chicken pot pie, or a peach enjoyed at lunch, the initiative gives LPS students another connection between the food on their trays and the Colorado communities that produced it.
It’s one more way LPS Nutrition Services is helping students grow together—while supporting the farmers, ranchers, growers, producers, and businesses that help Colorado communities thrive.
