One School Says No To Meat On the Menu

   By SheSpeaksTeam  May 13, 2013
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As many schools are modifying their lunch menus in an effort to offer healthier fare to students, one school has taken what some may call drastic measures to get kids to eat their veggies. An elementary school in Queens, New York has revamped their menu and is reportedly the first public school to have gone completely vegetarian in the name of healthier eating.

CNN reports about the Queens school, Active Learning Elementary, where instead of chicken fingers and meat balls you would be more likely to find tofu and noodles on the menu. Healthier food options is nothing new at this school as they have been working on improving their menu over the last several years.

Recently they made the decision to go from a successful 3-day a week vegetarian menu to the full 5 days a week meatless school lunch. With 85% of their students coming from Asian backgrounds school officials felt that the new menu may not be too big of a leap for kids who are used to eating rice as a staple food.

After working to make sure the lunches meet the USDA standards the school has begun offering menu items like roasted chickpeas, vegetarian chili and brown rice, tofu with barbeque sauce, and falafel. The school serves children from grade pre-k to third grade and though they are allowed to bring whatever they want from home many of them are very happy with what the cafeteria offers. Student Nick Lin says, “When you're healthy, you can do better on tests and you can fight more diseases.”

What do you think of this school’s decision to only offer a vegetarian menu?\

Do you think this is something more schools should consider doing in an effort to serve healthier foods?

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darlene1696 by darlene1696 | Whitesburg, TN
Jul 01, 2013

I think that's schools need to include more parent input on anything that includes our children. We r the ones that know our children and I just don't see alot of children being happy to eat this. I wouldn't have and my oldest, I know wouldn't. But most of school food sits in a freezer or in a can so there really isn't any fresh healthy veggies and fruit and that's what they need to focus on!

sharman421 by sharman421 | TALLAHASSEE, FL
May 29, 2013

Sounds just as bad as the fake chicken nuggets and government-grade macaroni and cheese. Let's face it, school lunches are not what they used to be. Why not real food? Real fish, fowl, and beef. Real fresh vegetables? Nothing wrong with tofu, but some real choices are in order.

lyss1997 by lyss1997 | Clarinda, IA
May 21, 2013

Maybe it should occur to the schools to make some kind of voting or parent/dietcian commitee to help on this issue, to make up monthly menues, and decide what is best for "OUR KIDS"