Schools in England receive national recognition for plant-powered menus
The award-winning schools menus have been created by Plant Based School Kitchens, who provide an entirely plant-based menu for one private school, and Waltham Forest Catering, who offer a range of delicious meat-free and plant-based dishes across its 43 state schools in compliance with the School Food Standards.
To secure a Gold Award, a school menu must meet all of ProVeg UK’s criteria for serving the healthiest and most sustainable menus possible within the School Food Standards.
These include having two fully meat-free days per week, offering a plant-based meal every day to all children, and encouraging more children to choose plant-based options through changes to the menu’s language and layout.
Jimmy Pierson, director of ProVeg UK, said: “We’re absolutely delighted to recognise these true pioneers in school food.
“We did not expect to be awarding our first Golds this year given how high we’d set the bar, but these two caterers have delivered on their conviction to increase the quantity and quality of plant-based school food to improve the children’s health and protect their future. In the midst of a global climate crisis, it’s time to celebrate these genuine climate leaders.”
The ProVeg School Plates Awards launched earlier this year to set the standards for low-carbon menus across UK schools. The Awards are designed to recognise the positive steps taken by caterers to create healthier, climate-friendly menus.
ProVeg UK is currently working with 40 major catering partners, mostly local authorities, across the UK through its School Plates programme. Since the programme launched in 2018, the non-profit has helped turn over 9.2 million school dinners meat-free or plant-based while developing tasty, nutritious, and sustainable menus.