The Baltimore City Public School system is about to become the first fully Meatless Monday school system in the U.S. They’re joining a growing international movement of individuals, organizations, communities and cities making the commitment to lower meat consumption and enjoy a plant-based diet on Mondays.
The 80,000 young people BCPS serves will begin each week with a Meatless Monday menu. And that’s not all. The school system has introduced a wide variety of projects to ensure its students eat and learn about healthy, environmentally friendly choices. BCPS has teemed up with local farmers and distributors to provide students fresh, locally raised fruits, vegetables and milk. They’ve also introduced Great Kids Farm, a 33-acre teaching farm, home to chickens, goats and a variety of fruits and vegetables. Educators on the farm teach kids and adults how to produce home-grown fresh food, even in an urban setting. BCPS is also in the process of developing gardens for each of the system’s 200 schools.
We at Meatless Monday hope the example BCPS is setting will help inspire the nation and serve as a model to transform school food systems coast to coast.
Recent Comments
This is wonderful news. Start the veg trend!
I think this is an awesome initiative! If you look at all the shifts in North American society over the past 30 years, the secret to success was educating the youth. Like wearing seatbelts, not smoking (yes, there has been huge success in this area) and environmental issues such as recycling, shifting to a meatless society tomorrow will be achieved by teaching the facts and benefits in the schools today.
This is awesome!!
This is really great news. Congratulations, this is a milestone! Thank you Baltimore, I wish you all the best with this project.
Way to go Baltimore City Public Schools! As a substitute teacher in four public schools in Pennsylvania, I see a lot of what is served for “lunch”. I get physically nauseated when I walk around the lunchroom and see what kids eat that is served by the schools. It is a sad statement about our society, that we don’t serve high quality food to our children at school. We should be nourishing their brains instead of fattening up their waistlines. Thank you BCPS for leading the way for more schools to follow!
That’s pretty cool, but milk isn’t exactly better for the environment. I have an idea: soy milk! Soy is an environmental issue, but the majority of soy we grow is fed to animals. So if we feed soy to ourselves instead of the cows whose milk we’re taking, this is beneficial to the environment!
Why don’t we take all protein out of our diets and see what happens to the long term health and sustainability of our population. I can say I am very happy that my child is not part of the Baltimore School System, this is a horrible idea! Showing the kids how to grow their own food, however is fantastic, more people need to have an understanding of what it takes to put food on the plate. Then the general public would have a better appreciation of the American Farmer and how incredibly efficient they are.
Eric I don’t know how to break this to you but the idea that skipping meat for a meal a week is going to impact your protein intake in any negative way is ridiculous, as is the idea that a balanced diet includes meat at every meal.
Should start a new “ALL MEAT FRIDAY” to counteract this vegetarian fascism.
“Why don’t we take all protein out of our diets”… wow, what an ignorant comment. Before decreeing this “a horrible idea,” Eric Kuehl would be wise to learn thing one about nutrition. A well balanced diet, vegan or otherwise, has plenty of protein. Way to do your research and help your students, Baltimore!
Eric – you can get more than enough protein without eating meat, especially for one day / week. I would be more worried about the kind of meat the kids were getting and where it came from then them not getting any for a day. Speaking of sustainability, I am an omnivore who loves bacon/burgers/etc., but eating meat every single day is environmentally irresponsible. The health and environmental benefits of reducing meat intake are well-documented.
Eric -
I grant you that the protein from meat is more bioavailable, but there are plenty of sources of proteins in legumes and veggies.
This is fantastic and actually makes me proud to be from Baltimore! The idea that you can only get protein from meat is downright ignorant. My husband and I go meatless 3-5 times a week and we’re totally healthy. Not only is it more environmentally responsible, but it’s cheaper and forces us to be creative with our cooking.
I am all for buying local and supporting local growers and businesses. The locivore lifestyle is not the most environmentally friendly way to go in all cases, though. Sometimes, it’s actually more harmful to the environment. You have to look at things like how the produce is raised, if chemicals were used in the farming and, if so, which ones were used, how efficient the transport from farm to market is…there’s a list of factors.
Kudos to Baltimore schools for showing kids meatless options. I wonder if cafeteria food is the best way to go about doing it, though.
I think that this is a reasonable initiative. Being an overweight woman I wish that I had been aware of these things growing up. They are not taking anything away from these children they are educating them about healthy initiatives. Their parents can continue to feed them whatever they want at home so don’t go starting about that their childhood is being robbed. These people are doing what they are supposed to be doing. EDUCATING THE CHILDREN. Way to go! Lucy
This is awesome! I hope to bring Solar Publishing’s children book – My Mom Eats Tofu – to the children of BCPSS to educate them on the variety of vegan foods many have never been exposed to – seaweed, quinoa, lentil burgers, etc.
Thank you to the Baltimore City Public Schools to give hope and insurance to the children and their families that we can live in a better world. It’s a great start! Je suis un enseignant vegan dans une école secondaire au Québec et j’espère que ce mouvement sera un exemple inspirant pour ici et le reste du monde.
WaoooW, Bravo!!! And Happy to hear this Great News! Really grateful to Baltimore had made a great step. your support on this meatless project is highly appreciated!
Wishing you All the best and Thank You, Baltimore! Cheers~~~