School Catering Company Switches Operations Due to COVID-19 in an Effort to Feed Community

When Bay Area schools closed due to COVID-19, My Green Lunch — a San Jose-based school lunch catering company — quickly pivoted its operations to provide emergency meals to families and students in need throughout the community.

The company, which normally serves fresh, locally sourced lunches to Bay Area schools, adapted its kitchen and delivery infrastructure to produce and distribute emergency meals. My Green Lunch partnered with the Santa Clara County Office of Education and Loaves & Fishes Family Kitchen to expand its reach and ensure that no child went hungry during the pandemic.

CEO Todd Evjenth said the decision to pivot was immediate. "When the schools closed, we knew we had to do something. These kids still needed to eat, and we had the kitchen, the team, and the relationships to make it happen." The company was able to produce between 3,000 and 5,000 meals per day at their San Jose kitchen.

My Green Lunch maintained its commitment to healthy, sustainable food even during the emergency response — sourcing ingredients from local California farms and serving meals in compostable packaging. The company set up a GoFundMe campaign with a goal of $300,000, aiming to provide up to 60,000 meals over the course of the pandemic.

The story of My Green Lunch's pivot became an example of how small businesses in the Bay Area stepped up to support their communities during one of the most challenging periods in recent history.