by Steve Holt, Civil Eats, March 21, 2022
New York joins Miami, Los Angeles, and the District of Columbia in expanding plant-based offerings for students.
In February, the New York School System, which serves 1.1 million students in 1,800 school cafeterias, began serving hot, plant-based meals to all students on Fridays following an executive order by the city’s newly elected mayor, Eric Adams.
New York City Department of Education spokesperson Jenna Lyle says “Vegan Fridays” build on the success of Meatless Mondays, first introduced in 2019, and Meatless Fridays, introduced in April 2021. Besides the hot vegan meals on Fridays, cold plant-based options like peanut butter and jelly sandwiches and hummus and pretzels are available every day, Lyle says….
“Plant-based options in schools means healthy eating and healthy living and improving the quality of life for thousands of New York City students,” said Mayor Adams in a recent statement. “I’m thrilled to see that all students will now have access to healthy foods that will prevent debilitating health conditions.”
New York joins Miami, Los Angeles, and the District of Columbia in expanding plant-based offerings for students. And for good reason—according to the Plant Based Food Association, 79 percent of respondents in Generation Z report eating a plant-based meal one to two times a week. Despite this rise in “flexitarianism,” however, just 14 percent of school districts nationwide offer plant-based meals in at least one school….
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