By Reed Mangels, PhD, RD

Started on Friday, February 4, 2022, and continuing weekly, the largest district in the United States will be having “Vegan Fridays.” On Fridays, food served at lunch in public schools in New York City will be vegan, according to an Associated Press article (1).  A carton of cow’s milk will still be offered on Fridays because this is required by the USDA. Children who cannot consume dairy milk due to a dairy allergy or lactose intolerance may receive a soy milk substitute (2).

Every day students in New York City can choose a vegan option but on Fridays all students are served a vegan lunch unless they request a non-vegan option.

On February 11, here’s what some of the vegan menus looked like (3):

Express Cold Lunch: Italian Veggie Grab & Go Salad  and Confetti Corn

Hot Lunch: Mediterranean Chickpeas served with rice or pasta; Roasted Cauliflower and Broccoli

Other planned offerings include a black bean and plantain rice bowl, a chickpea stew, and vegan tacos.

To learn more about school meals see

Getting Vegan Food into Schools

Vegan Options in a California School

Vegan Options in Portland, ME School Lunch

School Food Lunch

VRG’s School Lunch Testimony

Tempeh in School Meals

References

1. New York City school lunch menu going vegan on Fridays. AP News. https://apnews.com/article/lifestyle-new-york-education-new-york-city-nyc-state-wire-bca2dcfd0dda46cb08160baf6ecfcc86. February 4, 2022.

2. New York City Department of Education. Menus. https://www.schools.nyc.gov/school-life/food/menus

3. New York City Department of Education. Free Lunch Meals. https://www.schools.nyc.gov/school-life/food/menus/school-lunch-meals