By Emily Giron
Emily is a current senior at Beacon High School who is passionate about expanding access to plant-based meals in school cafeterias.
Emily advertising soy milk campaign by showing off posters!
Growing up, I was not aware of the term ‘food injustice’ after learning about it in middle school during a soy milk taste test. I learned that food injustice affects many students all over New York city due to school cafeterias not having options for students that are plant-based, lactose-intolerant or have dietary restrictions. It is important that students get proper nutrients as they navigate through high school. Did you know that 65–68% of the global population is lactose intolerant? And that 65–75% of Black, Native and Latino students are lactose intolerant. I decided that I needed to make it my mission to add a cow milk alternative to the lunch line. As a student who has a severe vitamin deficiency, it seemed unjust for students with lactose intolerance to receive inadequate nutrients because they cannot process milk. My PPYF campaign was aimed towards adding soy milk to the lunch line…