Running a school meal program shouldn’t feel like juggling ten jobs at once.
You’re expected to serve food students actually want to eat, meet strict USDA requirements, handle production records and compliance, support families, and keep the whole operation running smoothly—every single day.
That’s why Ordo exists.
Ordo is a modern K–12 food service partner that delivers fresh, scratch-made meals and a technology platform that makes school nutrition easier to manage. We work with local chefs, local kitchens, and local suppliers to provide the highest quality meals—and we back it all up with systems and support that help schools run and scale their programs.
Below is what makes Ordo different (and why more schools are switching every year).
Fresh, scratch-made meals students actually eat
Ordo’s menu philosophy is simple:
Make what students love—but from scratch with fresh produce—then rotate seasonally for variety.
That means familiar favorites made the right way, plus variety that keeps things exciting. Instead of thaw-and-serve or highly processed cafeteria meals, Ordo focuses on homestyle meals made with whole ingredients.
And because participation drives program health, better food isn’t just a “nice-to-have”—it’s the foundation.
Participation increases that can transform your program
When schools improve food quality and consistency, participation follows.
In Ordo’s most successful schools, participation has increased by over 100%. At Ross Valley School District, student participation more than doubled after the switch to scratch-made meals.
Not because of cafeteria flyers or one-time tastings—but because families and students trust the program again.
Today, Ordo has a network of 500+ professional chefs across the country who cook and prepare meals fresh daily. And Ordo has grown fast—expanding across 15+ states in the last five years, while continuing to support schools nationwide.
Built-in compliance for NSLP, CACFP, SBP, and more
For many administrators, the hardest part of meal service isn’t the food—it’s the paperwork.
Ordo's digital platform is designed to automate compliance, helping schools generate key documents like production records and meal counts quickly, with everything stored online and easy to export.
Ordo has menus with reimbursable meals for USDA programs like:
- NSLP (National School Lunch Program)
- SBP (School Breakfast Program)
- CACFP (Child and Adult Care Food Program)
This means less time chasing spreadsheets and forms—and more time supporting students.
Online ordering + easy service for families
Ordo modernizes the experience for families and schools.
Schools can manage breakfast and lunch with Ordo’s software platform, and families can place orders online or in person at school.
For families, that means a smoother daily routine. For administrators, it means clearer participation tracking, fewer surprises, and a program that runs predictably.
A mission rooted in real school food service
Ordo’s story started long before it became a national program.
It traces back to 1978, with Andrea Rosenblume, a child nutrition educator who believed students deserved fresh, whole foods—not highly processed meals.
In 2021, Ordo expanded that mission nationwide—combining scratch-made meals with a powerful platform built specifically for school meal service.
Ordo has now served millions of meals and continues scaling a model designed to make fresh food accessible to more students every year.
If you’re ready to upgrade your program with fresh meals and less administrative headache, Ordo is built for you.
