Following Friends of Animals’ recent legal petition, the U.S. Department of Agriculture has issued astonishing new regulations that make it easier for schools involved in the National School Lunch Program to offer daily vegan lunch entrees.

“We’re applauding this significant step that follows the excellence of our persuasive legal rulemaking petition,” said Priscilla Feral, president of Friends of Animals. “This is what change looks like. This is proof you can move mountains. The USDA, which is notoriously in lockstep with the meat industry, has opened the door to progress and it’s gratifying.”

FoA’s legal rulemaking petition requested that the agency overhaul its draconian National School Lunch Program, which was enacted by Congress in 1946. NSLP regulations have rewarded a prevalence of processed meat and cheese-heavy school lunch options, and schools are required to serve dairy milk to get reimbursed.

Presently, almost 100,000 schools participate in the NSLP, offering affordable or free meals to students.

Some of the updates that make it easier for schools to meet NSLP requirements with vegan options include:

● Allowing beans, peas and lentils offered toward the meats/meat alternates meal component to also count toward the weekly vegetable subgroup requirement

● Allowing nuts and seeds to credit for 100% of the meats/meat alternates component

● Allowing “bean dip” (mostly hummus, but also any dips made with beans/peas/lentils) as exempt from total weekly fat limit

● Medical statements (which are required in some cases for students with disabilities) that request modifications may now be submitted by registered dieticians

“The USDA is recognizing how good beans, peas and lentils are for you,” explained Adam Kreger, staff attorney for FoA’s Wildlife Law Program. “And the USDA is even saying that schools need to provide beans, peas and lentils, but makes no such requirement for chicken nuggets.”

While schools must implement these changes by the 2025-2026 school year, there is more work to be done to remove roadblocks to getting daily vegan entrees on school lunch menus.

FoA’s legal staff is already laser focused on participating in future rulemakings. The next opportunity will be to comment on 2025 Dietary Guidelines. The school lunch program is tied to these guidelines. Comments are due Oct. 1.

“Our comment will focus on the need to revise the 2025 Dietary Guidelines to encourage even more vegan proteins and non-dairy milks,” said Jennifer Best, director of FoA’s Wildlife Law Program.

This fall, as schools re-engage in their academic year, FoA will continue its vegan school lunch campaign, collaborating with food and nutrition directors across the U.S. to get them to offer daily vegan lunch entrees.

You can find more information about the regulatory changes and flexibilities in the rule, including terminology changes, on the FNS website at: https://www.fns.usda.gov/cn/school-nutrition-standards-updates.