San Jose School Lunch Company Switches to Emergency Meals During Pandemic

My Green Lunch, a San Jose-based school lunch company, converted its school lunch program into an emergency meal service to ensure Bay Area children continued to receive nutritious food after schools closed due to the COVID-19 pandemic.

The company, which had been serving fresh, locally sourced lunches to Bay Area schools since 2012, quickly adapted when shelter-in-place orders went into effect. Rather than shutting down, My Green Lunch saw an opportunity — and a responsibility — to continue feeding the community.

My Green Lunch partnered with the Santa Clara County Office of Education and Loaves & Fishes Family Kitchen to distribute emergency meals across the Bay Area. The company set up designated drop-off locations and established a consistent delivery schedule so families could plan around the service.

CEO Todd Evjenth emphasized that the company maintained its commitment to healthy, sustainable food throughout the emergency response. All meals continued to be prepared fresh in their San Jose kitchen using locally sourced ingredients, and served in compostable packaging.

The company launched a GoFundMe campaign to fund the emergency meal effort, with a goal of $300,000 — enough to provide up to 60,000 meals. For every $5 donated, one meal was provided to someone in need. The campaign quickly gained community support as Bay Area residents rallied around the initiative.