Food & Drink
17 October 2022
The results of a new YouGov survey reveals that nearly half of UK parents of children aged three to 18 years support an increase in plant-based food in schools.
The survey results are released as ProVeg UK’s flagship programme, School Plates, celebrates a milestone of more than 50 million meals switched to plant-based or meat-free at 12,000 schools since the initiative was launched in 2018.
Now, more than ever, school meals are in the spotlight. In a landscape where most children don’t get enough fibre, and some eat as little as one or less portions of fruit of veg each day, school menus offer a huge opportunity to provide healthy, nourishing and sustainable food options.
ProVeg UK carried out a survey with YouGov to find out what parents think about plant-based school food options, and their attitudes towards food and education.
The results showed that nearly half (46.7%) of all UK parents support increasing the number of plant-based meals served in schools.
When asked whether there should be more learning in school about healthy food choices, 85% of UK parents of children aged three to 18 years were in support.
The School Plates programme was launched in 2018 and now works with over 100 school catering partners across the country.
As a result, over 12,000 schools benefit from healthier and more sustainable menus. The programme continues to thrive.
‘It’s great to see support for plant-based options on school menus is strong with parents. ProVeg has already swapped 50 million meals to date – a fantastic milestone – and we’ll continue to keep championing plant-rich recipes, and training school caterers to cook with planet-friendly and nutritious ingredients.’
SOPHIA MILLAR
Co-director at ProVeg UK
37% of respondents agree that increasing plant-based meals would make the food healthier than the meals currently served in schools. A quarter (24%) of the respondents disagree.
Parents with younger children tend to agree that schools serving more plant-based meals would make the meals healthier (42% in the group four years and under, about 40% in the group five to 11 years, about 29% in the group 17 to 18 years).
Nearly 50% of parents in the region of London agree that serving more plant-based meals would make the school meals more healthy.
In line with the Committee on Climate Change’s recommendations, ProVeg UK aims to support a transition away from reliance on animal products, reducing the impact of our current food system.
Switching out animal-based products for plant-based whole foods benefits human health and can be great for the environment, too.
Many schools have been able to reduce their carbon footprint by considering the sustainability of their school menus.
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Let beans shine with these plant-based recipes from BOSH! cooks Henry Firth and Ian Theasby.
