Baja fish tacos, mango parfaits and a hot honey chicken bowl are among the new items on San Diego Unified School District cafeteria menus for the 2026-27 school year.

The district's Sandi Coast Cafe program rolled out a revamped lineup across all 205 campuses, which include La Jolla-area schools, Times of San Diego reported Saturday, Sept. 26. The new menu debuted when students returned in August. The program serves about 95,000 meals a day: 35,000 breakfasts, 51,000 lunches and 9,000 suppers.

New breakfast options include a turkey bacon breakfast burrito, egg bites with hash browns, a mango parfait and a blueberry muffin top. Lunch additions include a beef quesadilla, a hummus plate, a bacon cheeseburger and Baja fish tacos.

Two student-created recipes also made the menu. Culinary students at Morse High School developed the Hot Honey Chicken Bowl with Fried Rice, now offered at secondary schools. A Correia Middle School student created Ava's Avocado Salad during a previous recipe contest; the district refreshed it for the current year. The district said the new student-inspired items were developed in response to feedback from its nutrition survey.

"When kids have a better lunch they will learn better in the afternoon," Pacific Beach Middle School seventh-grader Kolton Hughes told Times of San Diego.

All meals are free. California's Universal Meals Program requires districts to offer breakfast and lunch to every public-school student at no cost. The supper program is funded separately through the federal Child and Adult Care Food Program and is tied to the district's PrimeTime after-school enrichment program for TK through eighth grade.

Robin Lujan, cafeteria manager at Pacific Beach Middle School, said her campus serves 75 to 90 breakfasts and 250 to 300 lunches each day. Pancakes, mini waffles, chicken tenders with onion rings and hot dogs with whole grain honey BBQ chips remain student favorites there.

Leslie Luna, marketing coordinator for the district's Food and Nutrition Services, said the program was rebranded as Sandi Coast Cafe in 2024. The district says it prioritizes California-grown produce and seasonal ingredients, though no specific sourcing partnerships have been disclosed.

The district expects to serve more than 17 million meals during the 2026-27 school year.