Program Overview: Whitsons Culinary Group, a major food management service company, worked with Meatless Monday to provide more plant-based options to students in the 95 districts they serve.
Objective: Use Meatless Monday to excite students about plant-based and meat-free meals and to encourage them to try new foods.
Process: Adopt new marketing strategies and menu items catering to a student audience and promote Meatless Monday as part of their “Simply Rooted” healthy meals campaign.
Outcome: Whitsons continued to promote meat-free meals through Meatless Monday and other plant-based campaigns, such as VeggaBols. These efforts have resulted in a significant reduction in greenhouse gas emissions compared to their meat-based meal offerings.
K-12 foodservice operators are uniquely positioned to help give students access to and experience with healthy and sustainable meals. Pairing plant-based meals with age-appropriate environmental marketing can support trial and participation in meatless meals at schools.
Whitsons Culinary Group, one of the largest food management service companies in the northeastern United States, instituted a Meatless Monday campaign at all 95 of its managed school district dining services, as a wellness and sustainability program. This decision came after an internal Whitson customer survey showed that students were curious about more meatless and plant-based menu options.
The program aimed to help students learn about plant-based foods by exposing them to a wider variety of ingredients, meals, and cuisines. Whitsons partnered with Meatless Monday to create custom marketing materials that promoted the environmental and health benefits of meatless meals, designed new meatless menus, and evaluated the program in partnership with Johns Hopkins Center for a Livable Future. Removing meat entirely from the menu was not required; instead, they added delicious plant-based options such as a veggie patty with gourmet toppings, meatless pizzas, acai bowls, and black bean burgers.
Whitsons continued to expand its healthy plant-based meal program and introduced new campaigns such as VeggaBols (plant-based bowls). Whitsons recently tracked the greenhouse gas emissions saved by increasing its plant-based offerings during the month of April 2023, and found that the total emissions saved from the 59 locations that submitted data totaled 349,740 pounds, which is equivalent to more than 405,000 miles driven by an average gasoline-powered passenger vehicle.
Demand for more plant-based menu options continues to rise as younger generations learn more about the environmental consequences of raising livestock, as well as the health effects associated with the overconsumption of meat and other animal products. Introducing students of all ages to a different range of foods over the course of their elementary and high school education can help them form healthier and more environmentally-conscious eating habits in the future.
