Emily said, “How could schools justify requiring medical notes for dietary accommodations when many low-income families in my community lack access to healthcare? The simple solution was home-packed lunches, but how could that be realistic for those like myself, whose parents’ time and money was a luxury? Frustrated, I searched for inclusive solutions and discovered plant-based meals could address nearly every barrier I noticed, yet they weren’t offered at school. That moment pushed me to contact my district’s nutrition director to advocate for vegetarian and vegan lunch options. Over several months, we met regularly as I presented the testimonies I gathered supporting accessible plant-based meals for students. My proudest success was the following school year where my relentless advocacy campaign led to new daily vegetarian/vegan entrée options on our campus and as well as the six schools within my district. Examples of new meals include vegan buffalo nuggets, plant-based meatballs, and veggie dumplings. … Soymilk has been introduced in my school’s lunch line. After my school’s rollout of soymilk, it will then soon be introduced to the rest of the sites in my district … Coming from a school predominantly composed of students of color whose demographics experience higher rates of lactose intolerance, I am absolutely thrilled from this success (Soymilk is highly popular at my school, with chocolate soymilk being the first to run out.) … Additionally, I was a student speaker at California’s School Nutrition Annual Conference, where I presented at the Nutritious and Delicious Plant-Powered Meals session to nutrition directors and school staff … I was so happy when audience members … said to me my experience encouraged them to try introducing veggie meals within their own community … To promote plant-based meals to ensure they remain for years to come, I founded a District Dietary Council, a youth-led coalition featuring student representatives from all six schools in my district.
I discovered this scholarship through previous winners Nancy Zhang and Ava Cuevas, both amazing advocates who I met through Plant Powered School Meals Coalition. Ava especially has been an incredible role model to me. She was my youth mentor. … In five years, my dream is to graduate with a degree relating to public health and public policy.”
The deadline for the VRG scholarship contest for high school seniors is February 20th of each year. For details, and to see other winners, go to https://www.vrg.org/student/scholar.htm
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