Take Action for Nutritious and Delicious Plant-Based School Meals!
The Plant Powered School Meals Pilot Act (H.R.5867), would establish a pilot grant program to provide healthy, environmentally friendly, plant-based meals and help overcome existing barriers for students to access non-dairy milk in our nation’s public schools.
In short, the Plant Powered School Meals Pilot Act (H.R.5867) would:
Expand Plant-based Entree Options
Establish a new $10 million voluntary grant program for school districts to expand plant-based entrée options for students, which may be used to pay for staff culinary training, technical assistance, student engagement, or procurement of plant-based foods that are sourced from underserved, organic, or local producers. School districts that serve a high population of food insecure students will be prioritized, as will projects that focus on organic and culturally relevant plant-based options and nutrition education.
provide Non-dairy milks
Require – rather than allow – school districts to provide a non-dairy fluid milk substitute to children without a disability if a student, or a student’s parent or legal guardian, makes a written request to the school district.
Authorize school districts to provide a non-dairy fluid milk alternative (consistent with the Dietary Guidelines for Americans) to any student as part of a reimbursable meal without a note.
Create a pilot grant program to help schools offset the cost difference between dairy and non-dairy milks, which will be prioritized at schools that serve a high population of students with lactose intolerance.
Contact your Representatives
Learn More!
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![A young girl with curly hair and a gentle smile, wearing a tie-dye pink and orange t-shirt and a small silver necklace, standing in front of a green background with line drawings of food items such as bowls, plates of salad, pasta, and vegetables.]()
Genesis Butler
Founder of Youth Climate Save
There is a huge rise in youth wanting to eat more plant-based options either for the animals, their health, the planet, or for all of these reasons. Many are unable to do so though because they do not have access to plant-based meals. Since youth spend much of their time at school, it only makes sense for schools to provide plant-based meals. I urge everyone to support the Plant Powered School Meals Pilot Act because it will benefit us all. -
![A woman wearing a tan wide-brimmed hat, earrings, and a necklace, smiling against a green background with line drawings of food items like salads, pasta, and bowls of soup.]()
Eloísa Trinidad
Founder of Vegan Activist Alliance and Executive Director of Chilis on Wheels
We must continue to right the historical wrongs of colonization which have led to great disparities in health, food security, and environmental justice, most of which is felt by Black, Indigenous, and Students of the Global Majority. -
![A woman with blue eyes, long brown hair, and a blue shirt smiling in front of a green background with line drawings of food like salads, bowls, and plates.]()
Chloe Waterman
Senior Program Manager at Friends of the Earth U.S.
The Plant Powered School Meals Pilot Act presents a quadruple win for student choice, racial equity, student health, and the environment. We are grateful to Representatives Velázquez and Adams for introducing legislation to enable school districts to provide plant-based options to benefit our children and the planet. -
![A smiling woman in a white chef's coat standing in front of a green background with food illustrations, including bowls, vegetables, and ingredients from the Cheffann Foundation.]()
Chef Ann Cooper
Founder of The Chef Ann Foundation and former Food Service Director for Boulder Valley Unified School District
Schools often face cost, technical , education, and marketing barriers to serving plant-based meal options since federal subsidies often make animal-based foods cheaper. The Plant Powered School Meals Pilot Act will start to level the playing field so that school districts can meet the growing need for nutritious and delicious plant-based menu items. -
![Portrait of a woman with long dark red hair smiling, wearing an orange top and a pendant necklace, against a green background with line drawings of food items.]()
Audrey Laweson-Sanchez
Executive Director of Balanced and former educator
Healthy, balanced, and culturally appropriate meals are no longer nice-to-haves on school menus, but are in fact critical to both the short-and long-term wellbeing of our children, families, and communities. As a mother and public health advocate, I am thrilled to see this legislation introduced and hope this is just the first of many policies of its kind. -
![A smiling African American woman with short gray hair wearing glasses, pearl earrings, layered necklaces, a gray cardigan, and a decorative leaf pin. The background features a green illustrated pattern of various food items.]()
Betty Wiggins, CPM
Officer at Houston Independent School District Office of Nutrition Services
Only through appropriate education will children learn to have more than a consumer relationship with the Earth and all of its bountifulness. With legislation like the Plant Powered School Meals Pilot Act, we can increase our healthy, climate-friendly nutrition education efforts across the board. -
![Portrait of an older man with gray hair and glasses, wearing a blue checkered shirt, set against a green background with line drawings of various food items like salads, sandwiches, and bowls.]()
Peter Lehner
Managing Attorney of the Sustainable Food & Farming Program at EarthJustice
We applaud the Plant Powered School Meals Pilot Act, especially at a time when schools are a nutritional lifeline for many households. Industrial meat production creates more methane than the entire oil and gas sector, and animal feeding facilities pollute our waters, cultivate the decline of rural communities, and exacerbate and perpetuate racial injustice. This bill helps to reduce food-related climate change, promote health and nutrition in schools across the country, and strengthen communities - all by providing more choices. -
![Headshot of a woman with long dark hair, smiling, with a vibrant green background featuring illustrated food items like salads, bowls, and plates.]()
Jennifer Molidor
Senior Food Campaigner at Center for Biological Diversity
Sustainable school food is an important building block for a just food system that supports biodiversity, cultural diversity, and healthy children. -
![A woman with long brown hair, wearing glasses and a purple top, smiling in front of a green background with food illustrations.]()
Amie Hamlin
Executive Director Coalition for Healthy School Food
School food service workers are true heroes who feed our children under difficult circumstances. The Plant Powered School Meals Pilot Act will help provide funds for consulting, training, and equipment. We applaud the school districts that want to make a difference for children’s health, equity, and the environment, by adding more plant-based entrees to their menus. Let's support them by taking action today. -
![Portrait of a smiling woman with dark skin and natural curly hair, wearing a light-colored cardigan with decorative buttons and gold jewelry, against a green background with line drawings of food items.]()
Nnennaya Ihejirikah
Fellow at Our Climate
The Plant Powered School Meals Pilot Act is crucial to the health and development of children across the nation. Providing access to healthier, plant-based options in schools gives children a choice to make informed decisions on their health. We discover so much of who we are in the classroom, but the foods we eat over conversations in the cafeteria are just as important.
