Vegetarian students at Bala Cynwyd Middle School are eating salads for lunch.

Every.

Single.

Day. 

And it's not okay. Many students depend on the free lunches due to food insecurity, vegetarians included. So many can't pack their own lunch, but they also don't want to cross their moral boundaries and eat the other lunches that the cafeteria serves, which include meat. Salad is infamously not a very filling food. And these salads aren't bad! They've got a nice enough variety of veggies in there, but none of them have enough protein to sustain a student for a day of learning. 

This means that vegetarian students are at a serious disadvantage. The free lunches are there to benefit all students, but vegetarians got the short end of the stick. They're forced to eat salads, and their brains and bodies don't get enough fuel to sustain them due to the lack of protein. This causes them to be more likely to struggle academically than students that eat meat, because the non-vegetarian students are able to get protein in the form of chicken, ham, turkey, etc. in their lunches every day.

And I know what some people are thinking. "Wait, hang on. There are some options, like a walking taco, where you can choose not to add meat!" Yeah, sure. That's great. But even if we don't eat it, an animal still died for that walking taco. And there's no protein in a walking taco minus the meat.

This shouldn't be happening. A simple dietary choice shouldn't mean that one student is at a disadvantage. Especially because there's a simple fix. All we're asking for is a simple Impossible Burger. Some kind of plant-based protein. Lentils, chickpeas, quinoa. Tofu. ANYTHING. It's truly not difficult. All food at BCMS is brought in by a truck, why not get some lentils on there too? 

If we are able to get BCMS to include more vegetarian protein, it will not only mean more options for vegetarians, it'll also be taking a step towards a greener LMSD in the future by giving students more options to eat vegetarian on a daily basis. We'll also be blazing a trail for more inclusivity for people with dietary restrictions like allergies or keeping Kosher. We'll make BC a better place. Please sign! :)