ProVeg School Plates Program: Saving Our Planet, One Plant-Rich School Lunch at a Time

For many of the millions of school children in the United Kingdom, lunch is the preferred part of the day – a break from lessons, teachers, and homework. But lunch represents more than just a moment of freedom, or a tasty treat. UK schools serve around 1.2 billion meals every year, most of which contain animal-based products. Significantly, food production is responsible for 78% of the emissions of an average UK school catering service, with more than half attributed to meat. There is an urgent need to shift towards more sustainable and plant-based alternatives in school canteens.  

Enter ProVeg’s School Plates program, which claims to be the only program in the UK dedicated to increasing the quantity, quality, and uptake of plant-based food in schools. According to the initiative, School Plates is unique in its focus on plant-based food, and on lowering food’s Scope 3 emissions (indirect greenhouse gas emissions), which are estimated to account for up to 90% of a meal’s total emissions. Unlike some other climate-focused organizations working with schools, ProVeg also offers all services free of charge, which they say makes their impact more accessible to all. 

First launched in 2018, the School Plates program has since supported 77 school caterers, who provide the meals for around 7,700 schools, feeding over 1.25 million children every day. School Plates focuses on caterers as they have the most direct influence over the largest group of people. The initiative works by offering a range of free services to local authorities and contract catering companies. They deliver chef-training workshops (both in-person and online) to school catering staff, provide advice on naming and positioning menus to nudge children into making healthier choices, and help caterers introduce new plant-based recipes and meat-free days. 

Eating more plant-based food is a proven way to help mitigate some of the impacts of climate change. Farming animals is responsible for 20% of global greenhouse gas emissions (GHGs), more than the transport sector. It is also a leading cause of deforestation, water use, biodiversity loss, and species extinction. The UK’s Climate Change Committee has called for a 20% reduction in meat and dairy consumption by 2030, and the UK National Food Strategy recommended the nation eats 30% less meat, 20% more fruit and vegetables, and 50% more fiber by 2032. 

School Plates has already been making a positive impact. According to the initiative, they have successfully transitioned 47.4 million school meals since the launch of the program. This is up from 24.9 million meals at the end of 2023, 12.3 million at the end of 2022, and 5.6 million at the end of 2021. This has reduced carbon dioxide (CO2) emissions by approximately 29,000 tons, which could run over 6,200 petrol cars for one year. Their plant-based school meals create, on average, 73% less CO2 than an equivalent meat-based meal, with each plant-based meal saving 0.62kg of CO2. They also estimate that at least 2.76 billion liters of freshwater have been saved since 2018 because of their meal swaps. 

School Plates is proof that each one of us can make a small difference. By giving children an easy environment to make healthy, climate-conscious choices, it is prepping future generations for positive behavioral change.  

Learn more about ProVeg.

Written by Sarah Souli
Photos provided by ProVeg