![\"DSC_0127\"](\"http:\/\/www.vrg.org\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2016\/05\/DSC_0127.jpg\")
<\/p>\n<\/p>\n
By Hana Takemoto
\nThe Vegetarian Resource Group Intern<\/p>\n
When I began my internship at The Vegetarian Resource Group,
\nI also began exploring a few topics of research. One of
\nthem that came up in the discussion was vegan options on school
\nlunch menus. After taking a look at the lunch menu during the
\nlunch period at my school, Atholton High in Howard County, it
\nbecame apparent that few vegan options existed. From that point on,
\nI began my quest to investigate how to add vegan options to the
\nlunch menus of high schools in Howard County, Maryland. <\/p>\n
My conversation with the Area Field Representative of Food &
\nNutrition Services at Howard County Public Schools revealed that
\nlast year, several vegan items were added to Atholton\u2019s salad bars.
\nThese items were hummus, a black bean salsa, and pasta fazool,
\nnone of which, according to the field representative, were a big hit.
\nThe vegan Boca Burger was once on the menu but is no longer served
\ndue to unpopularity and cost. She also told me that if a student were
\nto have an idea of a food item or recipe that he or she would like
\nconsidered, she could be contacted to see if it meets the guidelines.
\nAlong with the field representative, I also spoke with the food service
\nsupervisor at my school, who also offered interesting information:<\/p>\n
School meals in Howard County have to meet federal and state requirements.
\nIn order for the meals to be reimbursed, food service workers must
\nfollow the \u201cOffer vs. Serve\u201d policy: high schools are under the United
\nStates Department of Agriculture (USDA) regulations that state that a
\nstudent may choose any three of five options at lunch. One of the
\nchoices must be at least a 1\/2 cup serving of fruits or vegetables or a
\n1\/2 cup serving of a combination of fruits and vegetables.<\/p>\n
The five options are:
\n1. Milk
\n2. Fruit
\n3. Vegetables
\n4. Meat\/meat alternatives
\n5. Grains
\n(\u201cMeal Pattern Requirements\u201d I-1)<\/p>\n
Some, but not all of the time, fruit, vegetable, and grain dishes are
\nvegan. The \u201cmeat alternate\u201d previously mentioned can be the following:
\n\u25cf Yogurt
\n\u25cf Peanut butter and other nut or seed butters,
\n\u25cf Cooked dry beans or peas
\n\u25cf Eggs
\n\u25cf Cheese
\n\u25cf Certain enriched macaroni with fortified protein
\n\u25cf Tofu and other soy products (2.2 ounces of commercially
\nprepared tofu containing at least 5 grams of protein is creditable as a
\n1.0 ounce equivalent meat alternate) as of January, 2012
\n\u25cf Alternate protein product that meets certain requirements
\n(\u201cNutrition Standards in the National School Lunch and School Breakfast
\nPrograms\u201d 8)<\/p>\n
USDA states, \u201c …the most appropriate way to ensure that the product Currently, if a vegan student wants to buy lunch, he or she can reject What does this all mean? There should be more transparency and ease with which students and Is it worth it? Works Cited United States. Dept. of Agriculture. Meal Pattern Requirements. USDA, United States. Dept. of Agriculture. Nutrition Standards in the Also see By Hana Takemoto The Vegetarian Resource Group Intern When I began my internship at The Vegetarian Resource Group, I also began exploring a few topics of research. One of them that came up in the discussion was vegan options on school lunch menus. After taking a look at the lunch menu during the lunch period […]<\/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-9075","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","hentry","category-uncategorized"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.vrg.org\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/9075","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=9075"}],"version-history":[{"count":2,"href":"https:\/\/www.vrg.org\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/9075\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":9078,"href":"https:\/\/www.vrg.org\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/9075\/revisions\/9078"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.vrg.org\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=9075"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.vrg.org\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=9075"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.vrg.org\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=9075"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}
\nmeets Food and Nutrition Service (FNS) requirements is to request that
\nthe product be manufactured under the CN Labeling Program following a
\nFederally approved quality control program,\u201d (\u201cCrediting Tofu and Soy
\nYogurt Products\u201d 2). The CN Labeling Program is the Child Nutrition
\nLabeling Program. This program gives food manufacturers the option to
\ninclude a standardized food crediting statement on their product label.
\nIn fact, there is a whole other process of applying for the CN Label,
\ndetailed here: http:\/\/www.fns.usda.gov\/sites\/default\/files\/CN_Labeling.pdf<\/a><\/p>\n
\nthe milk and meat option and opt for the fruit, vegetable, and grain
\noptions. If the student wants a meat alternate, he or she can ask food
\nservice workers at their school if there are any options.<\/p>\n
\nIf a student wants to eat a vegan lunch at high school in Howard County,
\nhe or she can either bring their own lunch from home or buy a lunch off
\nof the school menu. A student may also choose to combine those two
\noptions. If there are not enough vegan options so that the student can
\neat a sufficient lunch at school, he or she may seek to incorporate more
\nvegan-friendly options into their lunch by supplementing what is offered
\nwith one or more vegan items from home, like a vegan milk, beans,
\nimitation meat, or anything else the student would desire. For example,
\na student could bring from home a bean salad to supplement a
\nschool-bought lunch that includes a salad from the salad bar, apple
\nslices, and a bread roll. If the student wants to request a new vegan
\nfood, he or she has the option of contacting the field representative of
\ntheir high school. The field representative can assist the student in
\nfinding an option. As important as adding the option is, a priority is
\nthat the student works on promoting the vegan food to others in the
\nschools, or else this choice won\u2019t stay on the menu.<\/p>\n
\nparents can learn about these guidelines. If I were a student
\nindividually seeking to add different items to my high school lunch menu
\nto better suit my dietary needs, I probably would have given up by now.<\/p>\n
\nWhat if students still didn\u2019t buy lunch, even if a wide variety of
\nvegan options were offered? My concern lies in the usefulness of having
\nmore vegan options on the school menu. As a vegan student, I bring my
\nown lunch because of convenience, not because of the lack of vegan
\noptions on the menu. Therefore, I speculate that having a more
\nvegan-friendly menu might not be a big enough push for non-vegan
\nstudents to try out the vegan options at school. Currently, my
\ninvestigation is leaning towards learning what impact bringing new vegan
\noptions would have on the community at Atholton High School. I am in the
\nprocess of distributing surveys to Atholton students in the effort to
\nlearn more about how to introduce vegan items in a way that would bring
\nthe most positive change.<\/p>\n
\nUnited States. Dept. of Agriculture. Crediting Tofu and Soy Yogurt
\nProducts. USDA, Feb. 2012. Web. 18 Apr. 2016.<\/p>\n
\nAug. 2014. Print. 18
\nApr. 2016.<\/p>\n
\nNational School Lunch and
\nSchool Breakfast Programs. USDA, Jan. 2012. Web. 18 Apr. 2016.<\/p>\n
\nhttp:\/\/www.vrg.org\/fsupdate\/index.htm#School
\n<\/a>http:\/\/www.vrg.org\/teen\/#food<\/a><\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"