Plant-based news

Several state programs in California have made it easier for schools to serve healthy, plant-based meals. Districts in Florida and Minnesota get shout outs, too, for their initiatives.

Two Massachusetts hospitals are taking a cue from choice architecture and putting healthy and plant based foods front and center in their cafeterias to nudge customers to make better choices. At one of the cafés, plant-based entrees make up 35% of the dishes.

Customer feedback to plant-forward items has been positive, and the majority of recipe requests the hospital’s culinary team receives are for plant-forward options.

Plant-based options feature in half of these trends, including expanded options for dietary restrictions, plant-based gets even bigger and climate transparency.

UC Berkeley has committed to have at least 50% of the entrees served in its dining commons by plant based by 2027, and it is teaming up with the Humane Society of the United States to reach that goal.

Liberty University in Virginia added a plant-forward and gluten-free food truck to its permanent offerings. This stand-alone operation eliminates the risk of cross-contamination and meets a growing need for plant-based food options among college students.

The University of Connecticut’s launch a vegan and vegetarian café has been a huge success. Notes a university official, “… there’s a lot of students on campus who are kind of more that flexitarian type of diet, which means they’re actually looking to eat more plant-based foods if they’re made available to them.”

An educational food service provider has found that providing information about a meal’s sustainability impacts students’ food choices. The company notes, “Seventy-five percent of Gen Z are influenced by sustainability and environmental impact” when making purchase decisions.

A 17 year old Los Angeles high school student was prohibited from distributing information about alternatives to dairy milk at her school because of USDA rules that protect the dairy industry.

When students are presented with a plant-based option as the default, an overwhelming majority will
choose it. The campus food service provider Sodexo ran the experiment over 35 lunch periods at three universities. Sodexo is planning to meet its climate goals by serving more plant-based meals.

The city estimates that its food purchases produce as much carbon as the exhaust from 70,000 gas-fueled cars. “We now have to talk about beef. And I don’t know if people are really ready for this
conversation,” said Mayor Eric Adams.

While some schools are actively labeling non-meat options, others are quietly offering students the choice. “We just put it all out there as, ‘This is food and it’s good’” says one food service director.

Food management company Chartwells K12 reveals food trends from its annual student survey. Included on the list are planet-friendly offerings and plant-based meals.

Food industry lobbyists, many from the dairy industry, are putting their own interests ahead of the health of the country’s children. Dairy special interests are nudging out fruit and vegetable requirements in favor of their own products. Healthy salt, fat and sugar limits are other casualties.

Impossible Foods introduced two plant-based products designed for school lunch menus shortly after
California announced $100 million in funding to expand plant based and sustainable options in schools.

New York City is launching a “Chefs Council” led by Rachael Ray to develop more than 100 plant-based recipes for public schools. The recipes for delicious, nutritious, culturally relevant meals are being created with direct input from students and parents.

Plant-based meal programs in public spaces such as schools can play an important role in changing behaviors that benefit the planet. This concept was noted in a recent report that highlights “super-leverage points” that can trigger larger societal change when it comes to fighting climate change.

Gov. Tim Walz on Friday signed a bill to provide free breakfast and lunch to all Minnesota students at eligible schools…