A recent study published in the Journal of Nutrition Education and Behavior revealed that students desire healthy and fresh school meals. Amid the COVID-19 pandemic, the federal government provided waivers to schools to serve meals free of charge to all students (known as universal school meals or School Meals for All) to combat rapidly rising food insecurity. Researchers conducted 17 virtual focus groups with California middle and high school students to capture their perceptions of school meals under the federal waivers. Prior studies have found that students greatly appreciate school meals and deeply value the meals being free for all students. This study explored students’ desires for more freshly prepared school meals and fresher fruits and vegetables, while highlighting a dislike for processed, prepackaged, and frozen foods. Students also requested water be more readily available during meal service. Further, the study found that students had limited definitions of healthy eating and may not be aware that the meals served at school follow specific nutrition standards. This study suggests there is an opportunity for schools to provide students with nutrition education, which is often lacking. Additionally, improving the quality of fresh food in school meals, which has been a priority in California with multiple state investments in recent years, will likely help meet students’ preferences. Further, aligning students’ desire for access to water could help to increase participation and meal consumption. This study was conducted by Carolyn Chelius, Kassandra Bacon, Dania Orta-Aleman, Monica Zuercher, Lorrene Ritchie, Christina Hecht, Ken Hecht, and Wendi Gosliner from the Nutrition Policy Institute, and Julianna Cohen from Merrimack College. This research was funded by California General Fund SB 170.