COMMERCE, Calif., Sept. 26, 2024 (GLOBE NEWSWIRE) -- Revolution Foods, California’s largest K-12 school meal vendor, has launched its first all-vegetarian menu with four fully plant-based vegan meal options for students back in school this fall. Students now have the option to select a special vegetarian menu or a main menu with popular vegetarian and meat-based entrees.
“Our ultimate goal is to ensure as many students as possible eat school lunch, including those with dietary restrictions or cultural reasons for avoiding meat,” said Anna Severns, Director of Menus and Nutrition at Revolution Foods. “We designed this vegetarian menu to be healthy and less dairy-dominant, with new plant-based proteins replacing meat in familiar dishes kids love.”
The new plant-based menu rotates on a two-week cycle and includes student favorites such as bean and cheese burritos, cheese tamales with black beans, cheese pizza and lasagna with marinara sauce. New to the menu is a soy burger and four unique vegan options – an edamame teriyaki bowl, bean burrito bowl, marinara pasta and taco bowl with beans featuring a pea-based meat alternative.
The vegetarian menu is one of several changes Revolution Foods is introducing this school year, all aimed at encouraging as many students as possible to enjoy healthy meals at school. New menu additions bring the total number of unique breakfast options offered to 33 and lunch options to 40. Highlights include:
- Grill days that boost student participation by making lunch feel like a backyard barbeque
- More protein-forward hot breakfast options
- Specialty seasonal fruits from local farmers, including persimmons, plums, tangerines, watermelon, grapes, cantaloupe, blood oranges, peaches and apple slices
- Healthy snacks: Chili Lime Rings, Fruity Crisps, Cinnamon Granola, Roasted Chickpeas and Hummus with Wheat Crackers
- Coming soon in early 2025: spicier options for high schoolers
“We’re excited to adapt our school breakfast and lunch menus to appeal to as many students as possible,” said Revolution Foods CEO Dominic Engels. “Our goal is to serve all kids, and we hope that with these new menu offerings, there’s something for everyone, so no child ever goes hungry at school.”
Students in San Francisco Unified School District led the way in asking Revolution Foods for more vegetarian and vegan school meal options – a growing trend nationwide. Recent research found that 79 percent of Gen Z respondents expressed a desire to eat meatless meals at least once or twice weekly. Nearly 70% percent of the 25 largest school districts in California now provide plant-based meals either daily or weekly — a 54 percent increase since 2019. Districts in Austin, Texas and Portland, Maine and New York City schools have also expanded their vegetarian and vegan menu options.
About Revolution Foods
Revolution Foods is on a mission to provide equitable access to healthy and nutritious meals for all. Serving more than 46 million meals annually, a diverse team of over 800 employees freshly prepares and delivers meals directly to K-12 schools and senior communities across California and Nevada. Founded in 2006, Revolution Foods is a certified B Corporation and Public Benefit Corporation. For more information, visit revolutionfoods.com or follow us on LinkedIn.
