New York City Public Schools to Join Meatless Monday Movement

April 3, 2019

For students in the United States’ largest school district, “Meatball Monday” in the cafeteria will soon be a thing of the past. Instead, beginning in the 2019-2020 school year, all of the 1.1 million students in over 1,700 New York City public schools will be offered a vegetarian menu for breakfast and lunch, as the DOE adopts “Meatless Monday” in an effort to improve public health and reduce the city’s environmental footprint, Mayor Bill de Blasio announced last month.

“Cutting back on meat a little will improve New Yorkers’ health and reduce greenhouse gas emissions,” said Mayor Bill de Blasio. “We’re expanding Meatless Monday to all public schools to keep our lunch and planet green for generations to come.”

The menu is still being worked out, but the Mayor and New York City officials say the menu will be budget-neutral. According to the Department of Education, Food and Nutrition Services officials will meet with students to receive their input before the menu is finalized.

“The announcement that Mayor de Blasio is expanding Meatless Monday to all New York City public schools mark a major milestone. Through this united effort, New York City’s schools take a leadership role in getting our children on a healthier track, as well as making a positive impact on our environment,” said Sid Lerner, Founder, Meatless Monday Movement.

Meatless Monday is a global movement with a simple message: one day a week, cut the meat. Launched in 2003, Meatless Monday is a non-profit initiative of The Monday Campaigns, working in collaboration with the Center for a Livable Future (CLF) at the Johns Hopkins Bloomberg School of Public Health. Their goal is to reduce meat consumption by 15% for personal health and the health of the planet. They provide information, news, recipes and free promotional materials to help individuals, schools, restaurants, hospitals, food companies and entire communities to start each week with a commitment to eating healthy, environmentally-friendly, meat-free meals. Now entering its second decade, Meatless Monday is embraced in over 40 countries, in over 20 languages, demonstrating the universal appeal of an idea that is simple to understand and easy to do.

“Meatless Monday is good for our students, communities, and the environment,” said Schools Chancellor Richard A. Carranza. “Our 1.1 million students are taking the next step towards healthier, more sustainable lives.”

Meatless Monday has already gone through a successful pilot program in 15 Brooklyn schools in Spring 2018 and the decision to expand it to the more than 1,700 schools citywide was based on the positive reaction from the students participating in the program. This promises to be just the beginning of a very significant shift in the way school food provides meals to students.

Borough President Eric Adams is a champion of plant-based diets, adds, “I could not be more energized by our progress and more ready to take on the work ahead.”

Meatless Monday builds on the City’s efforts to provide free, healthy meals to all students. This initiative will be part of New York City’s Free School Lunch for All, providing free, nutritious, healthy breakfast and lunch to all participating in New York City schools. Launched in the 2017-18 school year, more than 150 million breakfasts and lunches were served free of charge. Each summer, the DOE also provides free breakfast and lunch to any New Yorker under 18 through the Summer Meals program. Since 2015, New York Thursdays have provided schools with locally sourced or produced food.

Studies indicate that a properly formulated vegetarian diet provides all essential nutrients for children and major provides advantages to help prevent or treat various ailments including childhood obesity, type 2 diabetes, cardiovascular disease. Data indicates that 65% of American kids age 12-14 shows signs of early cholesterol disease.

“Plant-based diets are healthy and also good for the environment,” said Assembly Health Committee Chair and longtime pescatarian Richard N. Gottfried. “From child development to chronic disease management, diet and nutrition play a central role in health care. I commend Mayor Bill de Blasio and Schools Chancellor Richard A. Carranza for their leadership on this issue.”

Meatless Monday provides resources for restaurants including, How to Get Meatless Monday Going at a Restaurant, which provides a quick overview, benefits for restaurants and a sample email for reaching out to restaurants.

The Meatless Monday Restaurant Implementation Guide was developed based on research conducted by the Johns Hopkins University Center for a Livable Future, who gathered feedback from foodservice professionals. The guide offers: