As demand for plant-rich school food grows, parental support appears to be on the rise
The results of a YouGov survey published today finds that nearly half of UK parents of children aged 3 to 18 years old 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 up huge opportunities to provide healthy, nourishing and sustainable food options. But what do parents think?
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 of all UK parents support increasing the number of plant-based meals served in schools (46.7%).
When asked whether there should be more learning in school about healthy food choices, 85% of UK parents of children aged 3 to 18 years were in support.
Sophia Millar, Co-Director at ProVeg UK, said, “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.”
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.
Healthier compared to what is served now
37% of respondents agree that schools serving more plant-based meals would make the meals healthier compared to what is served now.
A quarter of the respondents (24%) disagree that schools serving more plant-based meals would make the meals healthier than what is being served now..
Parents with younger children tend to agree that schools serving more plant-based meals would make the meals healthier (42% in the group 4 years and under, about 40% in the group 5 to 11 years, about 29% in the group 17 to 18 years).
Nearly 50% of parents in the region of London agree that schools serving more plant-based meals would make the 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 not only benefits human health, it 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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