UK's Greenest School Menu League Launches To Help Make 15 Million School Meals Meatless

Schools are encouraged to enter The Green School Menu League, a new initiative launching today to find the greenest school menus in the UK to inspire, educate and encourage children to eat more sustainable food.

Launched by Meatless Farm in collaboration with the UK’s youngest vegan chef, Omari McQueen, and non-profit ProVega UK's School Plates programme, the Green School Menu League launch is part of a joint mission to help make 15 million school meals meatless this year.

Through its School Plates programme, ProVeg UK has so far already helped at least 4.6 million school meals to become more sustainable through turning them meat-free or plant-based.

The Green School Menu League launches amid growing demand for sustainable food to address the climate crisis. A new survey has revealed that almost half (44 percent) of UK parents want more plant-based meals served in schools1, and over two in five (42 percent) British children are worried about the future and the environment2. Food production is responsible for 78 percent of UK school catering service emissions with more than half of those emissions attributed to meat3.

To support sustainable food education and get children excited about the benefits of eating more plants, the winning school will receive £5k towards the school’s sustainable eating programme, including Meatless Farm products, and a visit from 13-year-old McQueen, star of the CBBC ‘What’s Cooking Omari?’ with a live cooking masterclass plus a unique plant-based cooking workshop for the school’s caterers from ProVeg UK. All school entrants will receive free sustainable food guidance to help overcome barriers of cost, accessibility and transparency, and menu development support with kid friendly plant-based recipes from McQueen, ProVeg UK and Meatless Farm.

The top ten greenest school menus will also receive a Meatless Farm starter pack and supply of its plant-based meat alternatives to help make more favourite school dinners sustainable from burgers to sausages, meatballs and mince. 

The initiative is part of Meatless Farm’s ‘For Kids by Kids’ campaign aimed at making more menus meatless in schools in partnership with McQueen, and the company’s aim to educate five million children globally about sustainable eating by 2023.

McQueen and Meatless Farm’s culinary chef, Ben Davy, are also set to take part in ProVeg’s local authority workshops this year to demonstrate to school caterers responsible for hundreds of schools how to cook and make menus plant-based, sustainable and delicious.

Omari McQueen, the UK’s youngest vegan chef, said: “I believe that eating more plant-based meals is the best way to protect our planet. We should all know where our food comes from and how it is sourced so we understand the environmental impact of our food, which helps everyone to make better eating choices. I can’t wait to see what sustainable school meals are currently being served and hope to inspire more delicious plant-based dishes!”

Michael Hunter, Managing Director of Meatless Farm UK and Ireland, said: “The Green School Menu League celebrates making school menus more sustainable and educating children on the benefits of eating more plant-based meals. We believe growing a more meatless generation is critical to health and the future of our planet. Making small sustainable changes such as making one or two meals with plant-based meat won’t have a significant impact on taste but can make a big difference in reducing the environmental impact of food.”

Jimmy Pierson, Director of ProVeg UK, said: “We care passionately about the food we serve to school children. We want them to thrive, nourished by good food they love and is great for the planet. That’s why we’ve joined forces with Meatless Farm to encourage schools to raise the bar higher, to push themselves to make school food as healthy and sustainable as they can - for their pupils and for the planet. We find that even the smallest of menu changes can have a big impact, and look forward to reviewing all the entries.”

Schools are invited to submit their entries and current menus, which will be judged by ProVeg UK’s gold standard School Plates programme criteria, Omari McQueen and Meatless Farm. The competition closes on Friday 25 March and the winner will be announced in mid-April.

This month has also seen the government announce a £5m cooking curriculum and training program for healthy living and commitments to increase school food standards as part of its Levelling Up white paper, and a school in Worthing is believed to be the UK’s first plant-based school kitchen via the new Plant Based School Kitchens program.