About the Youth Steering Committee

2024

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• Coordinated the second plant-based school food D.C. Fly-In. 

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• Students organized 41 meetings with their Members of Congress and key Congressional committees to: 

  • Support the Healthy Future Students and Earth Act;

  • Support the EFFECTIVE Food Procurement Act (Enabling Farmer, Food worker, Environmental, and Climate Targets through Innovative, Values-aligned, and Equitable Food Procurement Act); and  

  • Oppose the Whole Milk for Healthy Kids Act.

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• Students met with officials from the US Department of Agriculture, White House, and Environmental Protection Agency to urge support for more plant-based meals and non-dairy milk in K-12 schools.

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• Sent a letter to USDA urging the agency to do all within its power to reduce greenhouse gas emissions from school food by increasing the accessibility of plant-based foods.

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• Visited a farm sanctuary to learn about the impacts of animal agriculture and the humane treatment of animals.

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• Completed a wide range of personal projects including:

  • Local campaigns to add plant-based options to school menus.

  • Developing and disseminating educational materials about plant-based meals.

  • Writing blog posts.

 

2023

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• Initiated  a national comment campaign to collect public comments from students, organizations, schools, caregivers, and food service workers in favor of new child nutrition meal patterns that facilitate more plant-based options and plant-forward school menus. Comments were presented to members of Congress and USDA.

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• Coordinated the first-ever youth-led plant-based school food D.C. Fly-In. Check out their blog on this experience. 

  • Students organized 34 Capitol Hill meetings with Congressional staffers where students asked their representatives to:

    • Support the Healthy Future Students and Earth Act.

    • Support the EFFECTIVE Food Procurement Act (Enabling Farmer, Food worker, Environmental, and Climate Targets through Innovative, Values-aligned, and Equitable Food Procurement Act).  

    • Support the Farm Systems Reform Act.

    • Oppose the Whole Milk for Healthy Kids Act.

    • Oppose the EATS Act (Ending Agricultural Trade Suppression Act).

  • Students  met with high-level federal agencies to urge support for more plant-based meals and milks in K-12 schools. These agencies included: 

    • The United States Department of Agriculture (USDA).

    • The Executive Office of the President (EOP).

    • The Republican and Democrat Education and Workforce Committees.

  • Members met with Congressman Jamaal Bowman to thank him for introducing the Healthy Future Students and Earth Act. 

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• Sent a letter to USDA urging the agency to do all within their power to help school districts meet the growing demand for plant-based school foods. 

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• Completed a wide range of personal projects, including:

  • Local campaigns to add plant-based options to school menus.

  • Research reports on plant-based meals and the impacts of animal agriculture.

  • Blog posts.

  • Children's books.

  • Social media projects.

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2022

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• Organized a listening session with  USDA officials to share their testimonies and speak about the positive impacts of including plant-based foods in schools.

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• Developed a petition to collect youth, teacher, and parent testimonies in favor of provisions they helped secure in a House child nutrition bill that would expand plant-based school meals and non-dairy milk options. 

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• Attended the White House Conference on Hunger, Health, and Nutrition and initiated a letter to the White House about the importance of centering youth voices.

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• Met with 30+ Capitol Hill offices in support of policies to expand access to plant-based school food.

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• Published blogs and op-eds about their experiences advocating for plant-based school food.

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• Campaigned for new plant-based options in their own school districts.

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• Created a Healthy Future Students and Earth Act video challenge.