Novato’s

Dee’s Organic made an unexpected pivot and now most of its business is providing healthy, nutritious lunches to kids at Marin schools.

Coleman says the food is sourced locally whenever possible and that a lot of the fruit and vegetables served come from the College of Marin garden and one at Marin Primary. She adds that the teachers are happy that the kids are getting good food and an education at the same time. “It’s all about teaching the kids how to eat, how to grow food and how to clean food,” Coleman says. “It is thinking on a broader level; we want to bring that into all schools to help teach children about nutrition.”

In the end, Coleman says, her success really comes down to listening to the kids. “I want to make sure they have a voice in this process because when I was growing up it was ‘this is what it is and you need to eat it,’ ” she says. “That’s why I got into food because it’s like, no, it can shift. I don’t like peas. I’m not going to serve kids peas because most kids don’t like peas.”