McAteer Culinary Center

San Francisco Unified School District’s McAteer Culinary Center is the district’s first all-electric, full commercial kitchen, designed to provide fresh, nutritious meals to SFUSD’s Early Education sites and two high schools—The Academy and Ruth Asawa School of the Arts—while supporting meal distribution across the district.

Developed during SFUSD’s effort to establish new commercial kitchen standards, the project allowed the design team to integrate the latest sustainability practices and provide real-time feedback. With strong advocacy from SFUSD’s sustainability department, all natural gas appliances and mechanical systems were removed, reinforcing the district’s commitment to an all-electric future.

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Adjacent to the kitchen, a light-filled servery and dining area creates a welcoming environment for students and staff, reinforcing the connection between food and community. By providing free, high-quality meals, the Culinary Center helps break down barriers and ensures equitable access to nutritious food.

Despite infrastructure challenges, the project was delivered efficiently and cost-effectively, demonstrating the power of collaboration. The McAteer Culinary Center has since become the model for SFUSD’s central kitchens, serving as a prototype for five additional district kitchens—proving that with the right resources, schools can redefine the standard for quality school meals.