NEW YORK (CBSNewYork) — Put down the pizza and burgers. Extra veggie-forward meals are on the menu for Ok-12 college students in New York City.
As CBS2’s Leah Mishkin reported Thursday, public colleges are introducing Vegan Fridays along with Meatless Mondays.
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The brand new initiative kicks-off Feb. 4 with vegan veggie tacos for lunch at excessive colleges.
“They have already got a vegan possibility, so why ought to they pressure all people to go vegan on Fridays if there’s a vegan possibility?” mentioned Elijah Frechtman, a senior at Fiorello H. LaGuardia Excessive Faculty.
The New York Metropolis Division of Training mentioned college students can nonetheless request non-vegan meals choices and milk.
“I believe it’s nice,” mentioned Mei Van Der Schans, a mother of two.
Van Der Schans mentioned her household is vegetarian about half the time.
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“I attempt to give them a spread, a variety of meals, flavors, vegetarian, vegan. There’s some meat nights,” she mentioned.
Mayor Eric Adams, who’s vegan, mentioned the initiative is a option to expose children to more healthy meals.
On Fridays in February, college students will expertise Mediterranean chickpeas served with rice or pasta, and black beans and plantain rice bowls.
“In a single voice, we discuss preventing childhood weight problems, diabetes. But you go into a college constructing day-after-day and also you see the meals that feeds our well being care disaster,” Adams mentioned. “I’m going to do the perfect I can to provide them the choices of a extra more healthy eating regimen.”
The DOE mentioned this can construct on the success of Meatless Mondays with a nutritious menu sampled and authorised by college students.
Mayor Adams has spoken many occasions about how being vegan modified his life. He credit the plant-based died with reversing his diabetes prognosis.
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CBS2’s Leah Mishkin contributed to this report.
