{"id":1009,"date":"2013-07-01T07:13:40","date_gmt":"2013-07-01T07:13:40","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.vina.cc\/new-york-school-goes-all-vegetarian"},"modified":"-0001-11-30T00:00:00","modified_gmt":"-0001-11-30T00:00:00","slug":"new-york-school-goes-all-vegetarian","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.vina.cc\/2013\/07\/01\/new-york-school-goes-all-vegetarian\/","title":{"rendered":"New York School Goes All vegetarian"},"content":{"rendered":"
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Asked which school meals were their favorites, students at a public school in the New York borough of Queens don't say chicken fingers or meatballs. Instead, they name rice and kidney beans, black bean quesadillas or tofu with Chinese noodles.<\/p>\n

"Whoever thought they would hear a third-grader saying that they liked tofu and Chinese noodles?" asked Dennis Walcott, New York City schools chancellor.<\/p>\n

Walcott was at the Active Learning Elementary School this week to celebrate its move to all-vegetarian meals five days a week. The school of nearly 400 students, from pre-kindergarten to third grade, was founded five years ago on the principle that a healthy lifestyle leads to strong academic achievement.<\/p>\n

"We decided on a vision where health and nutrition would be a part of educating the whole child," school principal Bob Groff said.<\/p>\n

The school's focus on healthier meals began three years ago when Groff noticed a majority of students were bringing their own vegetarian meals. The school went meatless three days a week about a year and a half ago. It also tested meals on a small group of students, gathering feedback and changing the menu accordingly.<\/p>\n

Active Learning's student body may be more accustomed to vegetarian diets than most, with 85% of the students being Asian and another 10% Hispanic, said Margie Feinberg, spokeswoman for the New York Department of Education.<\/p>\n

"Rice was a staple of many of their home foods," Groff said of the students.<\/p>\n

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Asked which school meals were their favorites, students at a public school in the New York borough of Queens don't say chicken fingers or meatballs. Instead, they name rice and kidney beans, black bean quesadillas or tofu with Chinese noodles.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":62,"featured_media":2658,"comment_status":"close","ping_status":"close","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":[],"categories":[2],"tags":[],"jetpack_featured_media_url":"https:\/\/www.vina.cc\/wp-content\/uploads\/2013\/07\/veg.jpg","yoast_head":"\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\t\n\t\n