COHORT
SETTINGGOALS&BUILDINGBUY-INFORYOURPLANTPOWEREDINITIATIVE PLANT-POWERED SCHOOL MEALS
WELCOME TO THE PLANT-POWERED SCHOOL MEALS COHORT!
Everyoneofyouhasadifferentstartingpoint-andthatʼsokay.This cohortisbuiltonflexibility,meetingyouwhereyouareandworking withyourgoalstohelpyoumakethechangeyouwanttomake.
Thereisnosingle"right"waytoapproachthisprocess.TheBalanced teamwillworkwitheachofyouindividuallytosetmeaningful, achievablegoalsthatalignwithyourvision.
Thisisyourjourney!Weʼllbewithyoueverystepoftheway.
AGENDA
Introductions
CohortExpectations
ThePowerofPlants
Goal-Setting&Planning
BuildingBuy-in&
CommunityEngagement
NextSteps
INTRODUCTIONS
Letʼsgettoknoweachother! Onyourturn,comeoffofmute andsharethefollowing:
1. Yourname.
2. School/district&state.
3. #ofstudentsyouserve.
4. Somethingspecialoruniqueaboutyourprogram.
5. Somethingyouʼrelookingforwardtothissummer.
COHORT EXPECTATIONS
SummerPlanningPhase:
SchoolYearImplementationPhase:
Ongoingpeertroubleshooting,support,andsharingwinsviaCirclein the“DiscussionBoardˮsection.
Briefprogresssurveysreporting#ofplant-basedmealsservedand anykeytakeawaysonCircle.
THE POWER OF PLANT-BASED MEALS:
STUDENT HEALTH, EQUITY, AND ENVIRONMENTAL IMPACT
THE POWER OF PLANT-BASED MEALS: STUDENT HEALTH
Plantfoodsareasourceoffiberandotherimportantnutrientsinourdiets. Addingplant-baseddishestothemenuensuresthatstudentshaveaccessto nutrient-dense,health-supportiveoptions.
Upto97%ofchildrenandadultsdo notconsumeenoughdietaryfiber,a nutrientfoundonlyinplants.1
Roughly75%ofU.S.childrenexceed therecommendedlimitforsaturatedfat intake.1
93%ofschool-agedchildrendon'teat enoughvegetables.2
60%ofschool-agedchildrendon't eatenoughfreshfruits.2
1USDA,AgriculturalResearchService,2021.UsualNutrientIntakefromFoodandBeverages,byMale/FemaleandAge,WhatWeEatinAmerica,NHANES20152018wwwarsusdagov/nea/bhnrc/
2CentersforDiseaseControlandPrevention.(2014,August5).Childreneatingmorefruit,butfruitandvegetableintakestilltoolow:Childcareandschoolscan helpchildrenmeetdailyrecommendations CentersforDiseaseControlandPrevention https://archivecdcgov/#/details? url=https://www.cdc.gov/media/releases/2014/p0805-fruits-vegetables.html
THE POWER OF PLANT-BASED MEALS: EQUITY
Plant-basedmealshelpyourprogramtomeetabroadrangeofneedsand ensureeverychildhasaccesstomealsthatalignwiththeirreligious, cultural,and/ordietarypreferences.
Foodallergiesaffectnearly8%of childrenintheUnitedStates-and thatnumberisontherise.1
65%oftheglobalpopulation experienceslactoseintolerance. Peopleofcoloraredisproportionately impacted.3
Eggallergiesimpact0.9%,ornearly1in every100childrenintheU.S.,making eggthesecondmostcommonallergy aftercowʼsmilkamongU.S.children.
Eggallergyistwiceasprevalentamong BlackchildrencomparedtotheirWhite peers.2
Gupta,R.S.,Warren,C.M.,Smith,B.M.,Blumenstock,J.A.,Jiang,J.,Davis,M.M.,&Nadeau,K.C.(2018).Thepublichealthimpactofparent-reported childhoodfoodallergiesintheUnitedStates.Pediatrics,142(6).https://doi.org/10.1542/peds.2018-1235
1 Samady,W.,Warren,C.,Wang,J.,Das,R.,&Gupta,R.S.(2020).EggallergyinUSchildren.TheJournalofAllergyandClinicalImmunology:InPractice,8(9), 3066–3073.e6.https://doi.org/10.1016/j.jaip.2020.04.058
3
2 Bayless,T.M.,Brown,E.,&Paige,D.M.(2017).LactaseNon-persistenceandLactoseIntolerance.Currentgastroenterologyreports,19(5),23. https://doi.org/10.1007/s11894-017-0558-9
THE POWER OF PLANT-BASED MEALS: ENVIRONMENTAL IMPACT
Plant-baseddietshelpcreateamoresustainablefoodsystem,supportingthe protectionofourplanetforfuturegenerations.Environmentalsustainability isamajordriverofstudentdemandforplant-basedmenuitems.
33%oftheGenZpopulationreport thatsustainabilityhada“greatˮor “somewhatˮinfluenceonfoodand beveragepurchasedecisions.1
79%ofGenZstudentschoosetoeat meatlessatleastonceaweekand65% saytheywantamoreplant-forward diet.1
70%oftheGenZpopulationreport “alotˮor“alittleˮthoughtonthe sustainabilityoftheproductionof theirfoodsandbeverages.1
72%ofMillennialparentsreporteating moreplant-basedfoodsandmealswith globallyinspiredflavors-animportant signalofwhattodayʼsfamiliesvalue.1
InternationalFoodInformationCouncil.(2025,September22).2022IFICFoodandHealthSurvey.InternationalFoodInformationCouncil. https://ific.org/research/2022-food-and-health-survey/ 1
GOAL-SETTING & PLANNING:
SETTING YOURSELF UP FOR PLANT-POWERED SUCCESS
DEFINE YOUR GOALS
Eachofyouwillset1-3achievable,measurablegoalsforyourplantpoweredinitiative.Theheadlinegoalformostofyouistoservemoreplantbasedmeals.Youmayhaveothergoalspertainingtothingslikestafftraining orcommunityengagementefforts.
ExampleGoals:
HEADLINEGOAL:Addonenewplant-basedentreétothemenurotationeachquarter.
GOAL#2:Trainthestaffinthreeschoolstoprepareandserveonescratch-madeplant-based option.
GOAL#3:Planandhostadistrict-widecommunityengagementeventwithsamples.
TheGoal-Setting&PlanningWorkbookisanin-depth resourcetosupportyouthroughthegoal-settingprocess. YoucanfinditonCircle,butyouarenotrequiredtofillitout.
CONSIDER YOUR RESOURCES
Asyoudevelopyourgoals,considerwhatresourcesBalancedcanprovide tosupportyoursuccess.
ExampleResources:
StaffTraining:Balancedhasaseriesofthree20-minutewebinarsandaccompanyingresources foroperators.Additionaltrainingresources,suchasvideotutorialsforpreppingplant-based proteins,canbefoundinCircleunder“AdditionalResourcesˮ.
VendorContacts&Samples:Balancedcanprovideproductrecommendationsandconnectyou withvendorsthathavebeenvettedforschoolfoodservice.Youwillreceivealistofrecommended productsinJulyandbeaskedtoindicatewhichyouwouldbeinterestedinsampling(ifany).
RecipeSourcing&MenuAnalysis:AmemberoftheBalancedteamcananalyzeyourmenuand provideyoualistofeasyswapsandlonger-termshifts.Wecanalsosharerecipesuggestionsand helpyoutailoryourexistingrecipestoalignwithyourgoals.
CONSIDER YOUR RESOURCES
ExampleResources:
PeerLearning:Learnfromthesuccessesandchallengesofyourpeers!Throughoutthecohort,you willgettoseewhatisworkinginotherdistrictsastheyrollouttheirownplant-poweredinitiatives, tastetestnewrecipes,andengagetheirstudentsandcommunities.
DataTracking:Balancedcanhelpyouidentifymeaningfuldatametricsandsimpletoolstotrack themasyoumakemenuchanges,soyoucanclearlymeasureandshowcasetheimpactofyour work.
CommunityEngagementEvents:BalancedʼsInstitutionalSupportSpecialistinCommunity Engagement,OliviaRother,isavailabletohelpyouplanandexecuteasucccessfulcommunity engagementeventfeaturingplant-basedfood.Additionalfundingisavailablefortheseevents.
MarketingMaterials:WorkwithamemberoftheBalancedteamtocreatetailorednewsletterblurbs, socialmediaposts,andothercontenttohighlightyourplant-basedoptions.
SUBMIT YOUR GOALS
CompletetheforminCircletoshare yourgoalswiththeBalancedteam byJune30th.Thiswillinformour strategiesforsupportingyou throughoutthisprocess.
Wewillrevisityourgoalsandask youtoreportprogressateachof yourquarterlycheck-ins.
BUILDING BUY-IN:
STAFF & COMMUNITY ENGAGEMENT
BUILDING BUY-IN WITH STAFF
BestPracticesforBuildingBuy-In WhyBuy-InMatters
Yourstaffarethefaceofyourcafeteria.Theirattitudeinfluenceshow studentsrespond.Whenstaffareinformed,confident,andexcited, studentswillbemorewillingtotrynewplant-poweredmeals.
Explainwhyyouʼremakingchanges.
Letstaffbeyourfirsttaste-testers!
Buildtrustbylisteningtoconcerns.
Trainwithpurposetoboostconfidence.
Checkinregularly.Makesuretheyareapartoftheprocess. Celebrateoften!
COMMUNITY ENGAGEMENT
Thereareendlessopportunitiestoengageyourschoolcommunity!
Herearejustafewofthecommunityengagementstrategies Balancedcan supportyouwith:
Tastetestswithstudents,staff,andadministratorstogetthemonboard withmenuchanges.
Eventsfortheentireschoolordistrictcommunitytoshowcaseyour mealprogramandnewplant-poweredmenuitemstofamilies.
Nutritionlessonplansforteacherstoeducatestudentsaboutthe“whyˮ behindmenuchangesinthecafeteria.
Tailoredmarketingmaterialsandsupporttobuildexcitementaboutyour plant-poweredinitiativevianewsletter,socialmedia,posters,stickers, etc.
NEXT STEPS
Inthe“ActionItemsˮsectiononCircle: Completeanyoutstanding onboardingtasks.
ReviewthePhase1Resourc Guide.
ReviewtheGoal-Setting& PlanningWorkbook.(Option
Completeandsubmityourg formbyJune30 . th
Inthe“DiscussionBoardˮsectionon Circle: Introduceyourself!
