In the state’s largest school district, making meals available to all students — breakfast, lunch and sometimes, dinner — is a massive operation. From Pepperoni Pizza to Birria Bowls, to vegetarian and vegan offerings, students have a range of options to choose from. Even as enrollment dwindles — with early projections this year showing a 4% drop in students from last year — LAUSD says it is expanding the availability of meals at school. The district, like all in California, offers all students meals for free, as part of the state’s Universal Meals Program, which began in 2022.
The number of breakfasts, lunches and dinners Los Angeles Unified has served roughly a month into the school year.
Los Angeles Unified operates like a mid-sized city. The school district runs a food service operation, The Foods Warehouse, that has 76 employees and has served 13.3 million breakfasts, lunches and dinners from the start of school up to mid-September.
The number of servings of LAUSD’s most popular offering, Pepperoni Pizza, during the 2025-26 academic year.
It is no surprise that pizza — at 5 million servings — tops the list of the most popular meals for students. Second is the “Café LA Burger,” with 2.6 million servings. And third is a “Ham & Cheese Croissant,” with 2.58 million servings. The next most popular options are Birria Bowls, a hearty Mexican dish that features slow-braised meat over rice, and Beef Teriyaki Bowls, both of which district spokespeople said are growing in popularity.
Vegan and vegetarian options include Bagels, Guava Apple Pastelitos, Vegan Chicken Nuggets, Vegan Teriyaki Dippers, Burritos, Carrot Rice Bowls, salads and smoothies.
To reduce food waste, students can place unopened items onto a cart for others to enjoy.
The average number of meals served each day by the district, a 7% drop from 540,000 meals served last year.
Early enrollment projections suggest the district’s enrollment is down by roughly 4% this school year, likely to about 338,942 students. But the number of meals served each day has dropped 7%, further than the projected enrollment decline. The drop in meals served per day this year is a result of both the projected drop in enrollment and a drop in the number of students who participated in LAUSD’s meal program, the district said.
In schools that offer breakfast before the bell, staff now serve breakfast from carts with breakfast meals at school entrances and in classrooms, the district said.
LAUSD is also working to increase access to dinner by offering it to students before they leave for the day, or during after-school programs such as tutoring and athletics.
Data source: Los Angeles Unified School District
This story was originally published by EdSource.