Diners and staff are likely to have questions about your Meatless Monday program. Here are some suggestions on how to prepare your service staff to be adequately informed to talk to customers.
- Review the Meatless Monday benefits fact sheet to train your staff on the health, environmental, and culinary benefits of plant-based eating. You can print this out for staff to reference as needed.
- Each Monday, hold a pre-shift meeting to go over the meatless dishes being offered that day and review any new ingredients and recipes. Allow additional time for prep as team members become familiar with new recipes.
- Go over key talking points (below) with your staff so they are comfortable addressing customer questions. Express why promoting plant-based food is important to the establishment.
- Review these additional operational resources that include culinary training and menu and marketing best practices. Share this knowledge with your team.
- Include information on Meatless Monday in other employee communications such as emails, newsletters, and signage.
- Integrate information about the benefits of Meatless Monday into employee training programs.
- Use our free resource library, which includes social media assets, newsletters, printable materials, and table tents, to promote Meatless Monday to your customers.
Key talking points:
Communicating the benefits and purpose of Meatless Monday is the most important step in driving interest and trial among staff and customers. Here are a few talking points to get you started.
Q: What is Meatless Monday?
A: Meatless Monday is a global movement that encourages people to give up meat one day a week to improve personal health and the health of the environment.
Q: Why Monday?
A: Monday is the day of the week when people are most likely to start a new health behavior. Research shows that starting the week with Meatless Monday can lead to eating more fruits, vegetables, and plant-based meals throughout the rest of the week.
Q: Why should I participate?
A: Meatless Monday is easy, delicious, and can benefit your health and the health of the planet. Eating less meat — even just one day per week — can help reduce your risk of type 2 diabetes, cardiovascular disease, obesity, and certain cancers. It can also reduce greenhouse gas emissions and help preserve species, rainforests, and other essential resources. It’s a great way to experiment with a variety of plant-based foods and recipes.
