The Green School Menu League is aiming to make 15 million school meals meatless, in a sustainable eating push. Through its School Plates programmes, ProVeg has already helped 4.6 million school meals to become either meat-free or plant-based.
McQueen 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.”
A new survey has revealed that almost half (44%) of UK parents want more plant-based meals served in schools and 42% of British children are worried about the environment in the future.
According to another piece of research, food production is responsible for 78% of UK school catering service emissions with more than half of those emissions attributed to meat.
Michael Hunter, managing director of Meatless Farm UK and Ireland, added: “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.”
Schools can enter to win £5,000 of prizes including a supply of Meatless Farm food, a live cooking masterclass from McQueen and a cooking workshop for the caterers of the winning school delivered by ProVeg UK.
The top ten greenest school menus will also received a Meatless Farm starter pack and supply of its plant-based meat alternatives to help make more sustainable school dinners.
Jimmy Pierson, director of ProVeg UK, commented: “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.”
The competition closes on Friday 25 March and the winner will be announced in mid-April. Schools can enter the challenge at www.meatlessfarm.com/green-school-menu-league/.