{"id":26603,"date":"2026-05-04T09:00:14","date_gmt":"2026-05-04T13:00:14","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.vrg.org\/blog\/?p=26603"},"modified":"2026-04-14T12:01:21","modified_gmt":"2026-04-14T16:01:21","slug":"neel-gonugunta-from-wisconsin-wins-1000-vegetarian-resource-group-2026-scholarship","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.vrg.org\/blog\/2026\/05\/04\/neel-gonugunta-from-wisconsin-wins-1000-vegetarian-resource-group-2026-scholarship\/","title":{"rendered":"NEEL GONUGUNTA FROM WISCONSIN WINS $1,000 VEGETARIAN RESOURCE GROUP 2026 SCHOLARSHIP"},"content":{"rendered":"

\"\"<\/a><\/p>\n

Neel said, \u201cI stared at the cafeteria line, scanning for something I could eat \u2026 Plant-based options were limited to a weekly salad \u2026 I took initiative to change that \u2026 Soon I was on Capitol Hill, nervously clutching my notes to speak with staff on the Effective Food Procurement Act. I had prepared for a brief exchange, but instead we launched into a thirty-minute conversation on the economics of expanding plant-based school meals. Back home, I led a campaign at my school, working with my food service director and peers to introduce plant-based options \u2026 With support from a Friends of the Earth grant, I helped pilot a plant-based chicken sandwich directly on the lunch line. We are currently working to trial additional items, such as plant-based taco crumbles and tenders; to meet students where they are, particularly in my \u2026 rural public high school.\u201d \u201cIn college and beyond, I plan to promote vegetarianism and veganism by addressing the energy and infrastructure systems that shape how food is produced, distributed, and wasted. I intend to study energy science and engineering.\u201d <\/span><\/p>\n

The deadline for the VRG scholarship contest for high school seniors is February 20th<\/sup> of each year. For details, and to see other winners, go to\u00a0 <\/span>https:\/\/www.vrg.org\/student\/scholar.htm<\/span><\/a><\/p>\n

To support VRG\u2019s outreach to young people, donate at <\/span>vrg.org\/donate<\/span><\/a>.<\/span><\/p>\n

Join at <\/span>https:\/\/www.vrg.org\/member\/<\/span><\/a><\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

Neel said, \u201cI stared at the cafeteria line, scanning for something I could eat \u2026 Plant-based options were limited to a weekly salad \u2026 I took initiative to change that \u2026 Soon I was on Capitol Hill, nervously clutching my notes to speak with staff on the Effective Food Procurement Act. I had prepared for […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[1],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-26603","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","hentry","category-uncategorized"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.vrg.org\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/26603","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.vrg.org\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.vrg.org\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.vrg.org\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/2"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.vrg.org\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=26603"}],"version-history":[{"count":1,"href":"https:\/\/www.vrg.org\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/26603\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":26605,"href":"https:\/\/www.vrg.org\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/26603\/revisions\/26605"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.vrg.org\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=26603"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.vrg.org\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=26603"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.vrg.org\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=26603"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}