I am a resident of Miami, Florida and attend Alonso and Tracy Mourning Senior High Biscayne Bay Campus, in Miami, Florida. I am writing because I would like to give the proposal of integrating vegan breakfast and lunch items.

Plant-based diets are becoming more and more popular due to its amazing health and environment benefits. Including vegan options in public school cafeterias would be a huge step in a positive direction. Looking at the lunch menu I see that there are vegetarian options, but almost every single one contains dairy or some type of animal product. It saddens me when I see a salad in school with limp spinach, one tomato and ranch dressing. Healthy eating could be enjoyable if done correctly. Here are some options for breakfast and lunch: soy/almond/ coconut yogurt with granola, peanut butter jelly sandwich, hash-browns, falafel with hummus and pita bread, tacos with beans, rice and avocado, pasta with either tomato sauce or pesto and any assortment of fruits and vegetables.

Veganism is starting to become a trend, I went vegan four years ago with little to no options at commercial restaurants and now everywhere I go there’s fully vegan options. Having vegan menu items in school cafeterias would give such a great look. Plant-based diets reduce risk of mortality from conditions like diabetes, obesity, and cardiovascular disease. Breeding, raising, and feeding animals for our consumption is a tremendously inefficient use of our natural resources while a vegan lifestyle reduces this toll on our environment. I really hope you take my idea into consideration, and if you do I would love to help. I can provide you with meal plans and tips in order for this to run smoothly and give the students of America a healthier and more enjoyable breakfast and lunch.

Thank you for considering this matter,

Sincerely,

Selena Gittner