ProVeg and Sustainable School Food
ProVeg International works to accelerate the transition to a sustainable global food system by making plant-rich foods and alternative proteins more accessible and appealing.
ProVeg UK’s flagship programme, School Plates, helps schools to ensure that children are served meals that are healthy and have a minimal environmental footprint. We do this by increasing the quality, quantity, and uptake of plant-based food. The health benefits of plant-based foods are widely recognised, while plant-based meals generally have a less negative impact on the planet than their conventional counterparts. Working with local authorities, multi-academy trusts, individual schools, and contract caterers, we offer a range of free services, including:
Our programme has already supported over 100 catering partners to boost plants on plates. This year, School Plates won the prestigious All Party Parliamentary Group Excellence in School Food Award 2025/2026 in the group category.
Find data sources and learn more about our work here: https://proveg.org/uk/school-plates/
The Planetary Plates Network is a collaborative global community founded by ProVeg International, dedicated to advancing plant-forward school meals as a powerful tool for improving children’s health, as well as that of the planet.
What children eat at school shapes not only their health, but our shared future. School meals sit at the intersection of climate change, public health, education and local economies. Many school food programmes still fail to deliver the balanced nutrition children need to grow, learn and thrive, and lack the information to confidently develop and offer planet-friendly menus.
Our vision is to accelerate the transition to plant-forward school food globally, making plant-forward eating a delicious, nutritious, sustainable and culturally relevant standard for the next generation.
We recognise that advocating for plant-forward school food often faces financial, legal, political, and cultural barriers. The network was founded to collectively address these obstacles.
Our core objectives are to:
