Velázquez Leads 21 Members of Congress in Letter to the Secretary of Agriculture on the Need to Include Plant-Based Meals for School Lunches

Today, Rep. Nydia M. Velázquez (D-NY) led twenty-one Members of Congress in sending a letter to the Secretary of Agriculture urging the incorporation of plant-based meals into school lunches. Recently, the United States Department of Agriculture (USDA) announced $100 million to create a new Healthy Food Incentive Fund, to support the work of school food authorities to innovate and accelerate their efforts to improve nutritional quality of school meals to children.

"Focusing on increasing healthy, plant-based options in schools through this new Healthy Food Incentive Fund will help to foster greater alignment between k-12 menus and the Dietary Guidelines," wrote the lawmakers. "By designating $10 million from the Health Food Incentive Fund for a pilot program to serve plant-based meals in school, USDA would fully reach the intended goals of the new incentive fund. In addition, as our student population becomes increasingly racially and culturally diverse, schools must accommodate student needs by providing sufficient plant-based options."

In 2021, the Congresswoman Velázquez introduced the Healthy Future Students and Earth Act which would create a voluntary grant program for school districts to help schools provide healthier, climate friendly, and culturally appropriate plant-based entrée options to students. This letter encourages Secretary Vilsack to allocate $10 million from the new Healthy Food Incentive Fund to create a new plant-based school lunch grant and use the Congresswoman's bill as a guide for implementation.

"By including plant-based school food in its new Healthy Food Incentive Fund, USDA can improve the nutritional quality of meals, mitigate climate change, and help ensure the many students who prefer or require plant-based options don't go hungry at school," said Chloe Waterman, senior program manager at Friends of the Earth. "We applaud Representative Velázquez for her commitment to ensuring every child has access to healthy, culturally appropriate, and sustainable meals at school."

"EWG applauds Rep. Velázquez for her leadership in urging the USDA to expand and prioritize healthy plant-based food choices for students. Getting more of our protein from plants can significantly reduce how much our choices contribute to the climate crisis," said Geoff Horsfield Government Affairs Manager at Environmental Working Group.

"With the Healthy Food Incentive Fund, the USDA has an opportunity to protect our children and their future by moving toward a sustainable, healthy, and plant-forward food system," said Eloísa Trinidad, executive director of Chilis on Wheels. "Expanding plant-based options will help ensure all children have access to healthy food they want to eat. We applaud Representative Velázquez for centering the communities most impacted by these issues in the fight against food insecurity."

In addition to Velázquez, the letter was signed by Representatives: Nanette Barragán, Earl Blumenauer, Jamaal Bowman, Tony Cárdenas, Yvette Clarke, Emanuel Cleaver, Madeleine Dean, Adriano Espaillat, Raúl Grijalva, Alan Lowenthal, James McGovern, Grace Meng, Eleanor Holmes Norton, Jamie Raskin, Janice Schakowsky, Melanie Stansbury, Mark Takano, Rashida Tlaib, Frederica Wilson, Troy Carter, and Mondaire Jones.

A PDF of the letter is online here.