Climate-Friendly School Food
School food is a daily source of nourishment for more than 32 million children nationwide, serving over 7 billion meals annually. As one of the nation’s largest public feeding programs, U.S. K-12 public schools have a profound impact and opportunity to improve the health of students and the environment for generations to come. Despite growing student demand, plant-based options account for a tiny portion of school meals. Serving more plant-based food and reducing institutional purchasing of factory farmed meat and dairy in schools is a high-impact strategy to mitigate climate change, improve student health and racial equity, and strengthen local food systems.
Friends of the Earth’s Climate-Friendly School Food Program helps school districts make the shift towards healthy, delicious, organic, plant forward menus. We provide organic procurement and plant-based technical assistance and marketing materials, support student and community engagement strategies, and link school districts with the resources they need in order to be successful. We also partner with school districts and NGOs to advocate for state and federal policy change. For more information or to request support, please email [email protected].
Learn more about Friends of the Earth’s Climate-Friendly School Food Program
Sign up for Friends of the Earth’s Climate-Friendly School Food newsletter
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Learn MorePlant-Based Trends in California’s School Lunches
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Learn MoreThe State of School Lunch in California
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Learn MoreOrganic School Food Roadmap
Inspiring Stories from K-12 School Districts:
- School Food Service Director Video
- How a Rockstar Lentil Burger Inspired More Plant-Forward School Food
- School Districts Pioneering Climate-Friendly School Food
- California Organic School Food Case Studies
- Organic, Plant-Forward Scratch Cooked School Meals: A California Case Study
- Santa Ana USD’s Plant-Based Meals Initiative
Student involvement on the local level in one’s own school district inspires and drives the change needed throughout our country.
Congress should mitigate the racial health disparities that leave Black people so vulnerable to COVID-19 by ensuring every student has access to nutritious school meals.
School food advocates cheered earlier this month when California Governor Gavin Newsom announced a major boost in state funding for California school food.
This week the Biden administration released best practices to increase access to healthy and safely prepared food in federal facilities.
The U.S. House of Representatives Committee on Education and Labor advanced the Healthy Meals, Healthy Kids Act with a vote of 27-19.
Today, the House introduced the “Healthy Meals, Healthy Kids Act” Child Nutrition Reauthorization legislation.
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Learn MorePlant-Based Trends in California’s School Lunches
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DownloadComments on USDA Meal Patterns
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DownloadVisually Recognizable Foods Fact Sheet