Weekly roundup: Santa Ana promotes healthy eating with eco-friendly food truck, Loara High in Anaheim opens WellSpace, and more

Santa Ana Unified students and staff celebrate the opening of “La Trokita Verde” at Taft Elementary on Feb. 26. (Photos courtesy of Santa Ana Unified School District) Santa Ana Unified students perform at the unveiling of the district’s new eco-friendly food truck. A student checks out the interior of […]

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“La Trokita Verde” — Spanish for the little green truck — will begin serving plant-based meals to students on campuses across Santa Ana Unified School District just in time for National Nutrition Month.

On Wednesday, Feb. 26, Santa Ana Nutrition Services staff rolled out its new eco-friendly food truck to an audience of students, staff and community members at Taft Elementary School. The fully-functional kitchen on wheels is equipped with stainless steel food preparation equipment — displaying an elaborate exterior design inspired by Aztec culture and imagined by Century High School students Andy Arreola and Thomas Martinez.

Named by Valley High School student Angel Lugo in a districtwide contest, La Trokita Verde will make its way to each district campus to create fresh and nutritious meals for students. Nutrition Services Director Josh Goddard said they plan to utilize locally-sourced ingredients like fresh produce from school gardens while promoting healthier dietary options.

Nutrition Services staff also served fruit-based beverages and climate-friendly foods at the unveiling ceremony, making use of the types of ingredients students will be fed at the rolling kitchen.

“With a menu centered on climate-smart, plant-based meals, La Trokita Verde connects students, families and our community to the power of sustainable eating,” said Goddard. “Sourced from local, equity-driven farms, La Trokita Verde is a rolling classroom, teaching us that what we put on our plates directly impacts our planet.”

In addition to serving meals to students, plans for the eco-friendly food truck include serving meals to the community and helping to teach students about bringing food directly from the farm to the dining table.

Here are the other stories we’ve been following this week:

• Loara High School in Anaheim opened its first WellSpace — in partnership with OCDE and CalOptima — to give students a safe space to fight off stress and calm their worries.

• Students from the Deaf and Hard of Hearing Program at Connections at University High School have earned their spot at the National Academic Bowl competition in Washington, D.C. after placing fourth at the western regionals.

• Orange County residents can volunteer to help preserve the unique coastal habitat during Inside the Outdoors restoration day at Harriett Wieder Regional Park in Huntington Beach.

• On March 8, elementary, middle and high school students will showcase their historical findings and original projects through the theme, “Rights and Responsibilities” at the 2025 National History Day-OC competition.

• Spanning almost the entirety of March, the Garden Grove Unified School District will offer take-home meal kits to Muslim students who are fasting in observance of the holy month of Ramadan.

• Starting Feb. 28, the Hmong History and Cultural Studies Conference — led by OCDE and held at the University of California, Merced — will foster discussions among California educators on the histories, cultural traditions and refugee experiences of Hmong Americans.

• Six Orange County campuses were honored as 2025 Model Continuation Schools for providing students with outstanding guidance and support for different learning strategies.

• With K-12 schools expressing concerns about a withdrawal of federal funding, EdSource put together a guide explaining some of the largest education programs that could be affected.

• California students will receive an extra month to fill out their aid applications thanks to an April 2 extension on the Free Application for Federal Student Aid deadline.

• The American Federation of Teachers union argued that a recent U.S. Department of Education memo violates free speech in a new lawsuit, according to the Orange County Register.

• Three Santa Ana High School sisters are making their mark in Orange County high school girls wrestling, after celebrating multiple victories at a CIF Southern Section competition last week.

• Four Orange County high school teams put their culinary arts skills to the test this week at the 2025 ProStart Cup competition, organized by the California Restaurant Federation.

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