Trying to Veganize a High School Cafeteria
Posted by dani2007 on Apr 29, 2007 · Member since Jan 2007 · 21 posts
Im having a little trouble with how to word my letter to the school. I already went around and gave speeches/interviews in classes and collected about 150 signatures... but now its time to actually write the letter and put together a packet of info for the school to look at. What should i cover in the letter? Should i focus more on the problems with teen health and obesity statistics? I dont know how supportive my school will be if i use the words vegetarian or vegan too much, or talk about factory farming, since i live in a very non-veg friendly town! I'm not expecting them to completely convert the cafeteria, but it would be nice to have something veg-friendly offered other than browned vegetables !What do you guys suggest?
That's awesome that you're doing this! I would agree with Twink and focus on the health benefits. Also, having veg options in the cafeteria encompasses everyone, so no one goes hungry! And, yes, I would stay away from the factory farming issue if you don't think people will understand/accept. Maybe using the phrase "compassionate lifestyle/diet" would be okay?
Realistically, $$$ will be the deal-breaker. School officials will not want to shell out extra money if they think only 5 students will actually eat the food, particularly if this is a public school. The more support from other students, i.e. signatures, the better. The emphasis could also have to be on a way to actually SAVE the school money, since veggies, beans, etc., are typically cheaper than meat. Unless it's mystery meat, which diseased rats hand out for free in dark alleys.
Eating in schools comes down to the almighty dollar and what the USDA hands out in the way of commodities. Those huge boxes of prefried mystery meat are subsidized. Boca burgers are not, nor any other vegan / organic products. It also comes down to most school cafeteria "cooks" cannot cook, and they do not have the space or equipment to do so, even if they know how.
I got upset because when we lived in Denver we had a very very diverse group of students. We had East Indians who did not eat meat. We had Arabic / Islamic students who did not eat pork. We had several Native American, Asian and African-American families and most of the members of these groups are lactose intolerant. We had several families, including mine, who were vegetarian / vegan. It all came down to opportunity and choice and unless you were a white Anglo-Saxon you had no choices in the lunch line. They did not even off soy/rice milk, let alone more than one meal choice. If you had no school lunch from home and no money for lunch, you were given crackers and water. If could not eat the lunch because you were allergic to something and didn't bring a lunch, you got crackers and water!
The other pet peeve I have about schools is that students are not given time to eat a proper lunch. At the junior high my kids went to they were given 20 minutes to each lunch. Unless they had brought a full lunch, including a drink, they had to wait in the lunch line for 15 to 20 minutes to pay for milk or juice or a soda. If they were at the end of the line, they were instructed to dump their meal in the trash, they would not be allowed to eat because they had "wasted their lunch time"!!!! This is not second hand from my kids, I have witnessed it on many occasions. When the principal was questioned about this he stated that it was the school board mandate and nothing anyone could do about it.
I am venting. I applaud your efforts and I hope you can put together a good letter. I don't now that I'd emphasize that V word because you'll get a lot of flack, but if you offer this up as needing to meet socially diverse dietary needs that might help you. I just hope that the kids where you live are given adequate time for eating properly in a positive, not so rushed environment.
thank you all so much for the advice and input! I will definitely mention the health advantages, different religious beliefs, lactose intolerance and other allergies. I was also thinking about providing them with materials from a national consulting service called the Veg Advantage (its free!), which will help them find where to buy the stuff. I can't wait to hand this over to the office and see what they say! I'm going to work now, but first thing when i get home i'm going to write it :)
LadyDragonfly1, i think we usually have about 35-40 mins to eat lunch. Thats a lot better than 20 mins, but it still doesn't seem like enough time with the number of kids in our school. We have 4 lunch periods, and around 5-6 different lunch lines. If you don't rush down to the cafe right after class, you can count on standing there for a good 20+ mins, depending on what they're serving!
I'll keep you all posted on the outcome, and thanks again for all of your help! You guys rock :)!
To Whom it May Concern:
I would like to make a suggestion regarding the breakfast and lunch options offered at CASHS. As a vegetarian, having more healthy options is of great importance to me. Providing vegetarian and dairy free options not only appeals to vegetarian students, but also those who have allergies, or those who avoid eating certain foods because of their religious beliefs.
Obesity and other food related health issues are currently on the rise in the United States. Over the past 20 years, the percentage of obese adolescents has tripled! By offering healthier food choices to students, you will be taking a large step towards combating the alarming trends. It has been proven that a diet containing vegetables, legumes, fruits and whole grains helps one maintain a healthier lifestyle. Also, cutting back on the amounts of fat and sugar in the food that is served may ultimately improve students academic performance and behavior.
Although it may seem too expensive, or difficult to serve additional food each day, it will without a doubt be worthwhile and in the students best interest. There are many organizations, such as the Veg Advantage, which gives advice and direction free of charge, and is designed to help schools make healthy and appetizing vegetarian options possible. I have included additional information on the Veg Advantage program and a number of signatures I have collected of students who would like to see more healthy options added to the menu as well. Thank you for your time and consideration.
Okay, so thats the rough draft i came up with. Tommorrow, im going to ask one of my teachers to read over it and make corrections. Feel free to read over it and offer suggestions, too! Any constructive criticism is welcomed :)
When i read in your post about your stereotyping friend that you excluded IL from the other states in regards to its lunch program, i thought, "is that because what we get served here is not legally considered food?" Our food here is sickening-i wouldn't even eat the vegan options (when they accidentally provide a vegan option) if i were paid! That might be a mealy apple rejected from the store weeks ago or a white flour roll...and the non-vegan meals aren't fit to feed anybody. i really can't express in words my disgust for school cafeteria food and the people that provide it. If you could see my face it would probably do a much better job! :P I just thought the notion of it being better here was so funny...could it possibly be worse?!
I was in high school about 3 years ago now in Florida. I lived in a small town with a lot of very, shall we say, closed minded people. Well, I decided one day to ask the cafeteria manager about the vegetarian lunch options even though I was not(am not) a full fledged vegetarian. All she could offer me was a salad (and their salads usually had egg and ham in them) and dressing. Unfortunately their dressing was ALWAYS buttermilk ranch. I am lactose intolerant. I can't eat that. She told me there was nothing else and if I wanted that I could get one without the meat in it. Can you say "boring"? A plain pile of lettuce everyday? I don't think so. I ended up bringing my lunch instead of supporting that.
Before this incident I asked about getting two orange juices instead of an orange juice and milk because I am lactose intolerant. They told me I'd need a doctor's note in order to do that. So when I would have to buy a school lunch I gave the milk to a friend in exchange for their orange juice.
School lunch programs are ridiculous!
my mom works for the school cafeteria...she cooks the food...well what needs to be cooked ??? and even she is disgusted by it!! they only offer one vegetarian/vegan option a day: peanut butter and jelly...but its with hydrogenated-full-of-salt-and-sugar peanut butter, "jelly," and white bread. and they are required to have milk. and if they happen to have an option that looks vegetarian (again, we dont know whats in it) its usually drowning in processed "cheese product." they are now trying to focus on making healthy choices, but yet they serve chips ahoy, doritos, prezels with "cheese" sauce, pizza, and french fries every single day. i would love to write a letter to my school to get them to make changes, but im going to be a senior next year, and i take my own lunch everyday...they would probably complain about prices too, cause i school really is broke.
Finally! Yay... i got my letter back from my teacher (the one who revised it for me). He praised me for about 10 mins lol The only thing he changed/recommend was my format. He told me a lot of times, "To Whom It May Concern" goes right into the trash, so he gave me the names of two people i could send it to! Other than that though, he told me it was one of the best things he has read written by a student. That made me feel really good.
Soooo i just got done making the corrections... and they will be in the office first thing in the morning :) Wish me luck!!!
(((Thanks again for all the help! You guys are the best)))
Wishing you luck, Dani! Some of my daughter's friends were able to successfully lobby their school to provide veggie burgers and tofu hot dogs in the ala carte line. They have to pay extra for them, but at least they are available.
I already got a response from one of the people i sent it to! (the Director of Food Services)
Dear Daniela,
Thank you for taking the time to write to us concerning your interest in having vegetarian options on the menu at the Senior High School. We are always interested in what the wants and needs of the students are. We hold four meetings per year with student representatives to discuss any Food Service issues on the part of students and Food Service, do sampling of new food items etc. These meetings are usually arranged through a specific teacher each year. I am not sure what grade you are in but you may want to check with her in regard to becoming a member of that group.
For now i encourage you to make yourself known to the Food Service Manager at the Senior High School. She will be more than willing to talk with you about vegetarian options at meal times. I am sending her the information that you sent to us.
Thank you for your interest in the program.
yay :) The only thing is.. im a senior and i'll be out of the school in 3 weeks :( Sooo i wont be able to go to any meetings. Im going to try to find a junior or sophmore who would be interested in being a rep. next year to pick up where i left off; unless theres some other way i can do it! I hope i will get a response from the Food Service Manager from my school; maybe she will have another suggestion. I'll keep you updated when/if i get more letters!
Hey Dani,
Thats so cool!! :) I wish I had the guts/motivation to do stuff like that when I was in high school.
If you're in town for the next food services meeting (not away at college or traveling) I think you should try to attend. It may not affect you but I could mean a world of difference for future veggies. It could be your 'legacy' to your school.
K^2
Kudos to you for taking action! :) The letter actually sounds promising, which is more than I would have expected. I agree with K2--try to attend the meeting if you can--this is your baby and you can probably state your case better than anyone else, since you are very passionate about it.
i think it is great that you are taking an initiative to write this letter!
i would re-work the sentence where you said, "i know it might seem too expensive". the word "expensive" is in and of itself a negative attention-getter. try to use more words that are positive. i would say something more like, "vegetables and legumes are not only easy to prepare, but budget-friendly. the marginal cost of adding them to the menu would be relatively small, but would give such a great payoff. better health and better school performance are benefits that both parents and the school district will appreciate." just a suggestion...
we are so lucky here in that every day, there are 2 alternatives for school lunches. a regular whatever dish, and then a veg*n version of it. this is very common in sweden, and i would guess in europe as well. that may be something you would want to mention in your letter, that european countries have offered veg*n versions every day and their children are much healthier, have a much lower obesity rate, better grades, better behavior, etc... and that maybe it is time for the US to follow suit.
fiona
hi everyone!
I'm writing a paper for a nonprofit seeking to make alternatives to cow's milk more readily available in the national school lunch program, and i want to include the personal story of someone who tried to get an alternative for ethical reasons. I would need to quote you and use your name. Would any of you like to share your story? If so, email eval(unescape('%64%6f%63%75%6d%65%6e%74%2e%77%72%69%74%65%28%27%3c%61%20%68%72%65%66%3d%22%6d%61%69%6c%74%6f%3a%6c%6f%62%69%72%64%40%6c%69%76%65%2e%63%6f%6d%22%3e%6c%6f%62%69%72%64%40%6c%69%76%65%2e%63%6f%6d%3c%2f%61%3e%27%29%3b')), and I'll tell you more about the project.
Thank you,
Lauren