The Fourth-Largest Public School District in America Is Adding More Vegan Foods to Lunch Menus

According to LiveKindly, Miami-Dade County Public Schools, the nation’s fourth-largest school district, is revamping its nutrition program and rolling out more plant-based lunch options for students at its over 460 schools.

In addition to offering free breakfasts and affordable lunches for $3, the Florida school district is putting a real emphasis on healthy food for students. And while Miami-Dade schools have long offered vegetarian food, this year they’ll offer more entirely vegan meals made with “locally sourced fruits and vegetables.

Penny Parham, food and nutrition officer for Miami-Dade County Public Schools, told a local news outlet, “This year, we’re going to be introducing a new plant-based vegan chili, cilantro and a chipotle brown rice.

Miami-Dade isn’t the first school district to offer vegan options. More than 50 school districts nationwide currently observe Meatless Monday, and vegan options at schools have been on the rise for years.

Earlier this year, Santa Barbara Unified School District revealed that 50 percent of meals served in its cafeterias were vegan, after a partnership between the district and plant-based company Hungry Planet.

Furthermore, last year all 1,800 public schools in New York City started to offer at least one vegan option, and Los Angeles Unified School District rolled out a vegan pilot program to offer more plant-based lunch options to students at no additional cost.


Offering vegan meals in schools will not only help improve students’ health and teach them how to eat a nutritious diet but spare countless animals a life of misery at factory farms. These shifts toward plant-based school lunches are shaping the way future generations will eat.

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