Islandia, NY, May 03, 2022 (GLOBE NEWSWIRE) -- Whitsons Culinary Group® has partnered with the Humane Society of the United States (HSUS) to increase healthy, sustainable plant-based menu offerings to K-12 school districts through a program called Veggabóls. Veggabóls is the first 100% plant-based K-12 concept in the country. As a U.S. Food Loss and Waste 2030 Champion, Veggabóls is a signature step in Whitsons School Nutrition’s goal of providing at least 10% plant-based menu offerings by 2024.
The Veggabóls pilot offers 10 new healthy and sustainable plant-based recipes developed by a team of HSUS chefs, who modified several of Whitsons’ top school menu options as plant-based recipes. They also developed new proprietary recipes such as the Fiesta Rice and Beans Veggabóls and the BBQ Chickpea and Rice Veggabóls.
All new recipes are being piloted across 12 school districts this spring. To ensure a successful rollout of these new plant-based entrees, HSUS and Whitsons partnered to conduct a virtual plant-based culinary training for Whitsons’ pilot leads at all 12 school districts. In addition to the culinary training, new marketing materials are being tested, student customer feedback is being gathered and greenhouse gas savings are being calculated. With the success of the pilot, Whitsons intends to expand the program across all school nutrition locations in Fall 2022.
“Whitsons is pleased to be expanding our plant-based offerings through our new Veggabóls concept. It perfectly complements our Simply Rooted® philosophy of promoting wholesome foods, a healthy environment, and balanced diets,” said Kelly Friend, Chief Operating Officer of Whitsons. “We started on our plant-based journey several years ago, with the Meatless Monday campaign, and now, with the support of HSUS, we are continuing to add to our menu offerings with these delicious and healthy new plant-based recipes that our student customers are sure to enjoy.
“Whitsons has already laid a terrific foundation across their school menus through their participation in Meatless Mondays and their innovative Veggie Table program. We are thrilled to help them increase their impact and achieve what their core philosophy states as their ‘commitment to helping people to live healthier lives by moving food in a more nourishing and natural direction’,” says Kate Watts, Manager of Food Service Innovation with the Humane Society of the United States. “We applaud Whitsons for its work on plant-based foods and are looking forward to working together for years to come.”
About Whitsons Culinary Group
Whitsons Culinary Group provides a wide range of highly customized dining services to public schools, healthcare dining and emergency services throughout the Northeast, with a strong focus on nutritious, high quality meals made from wholesome, fresh ingredients. Our Simply Rooted® philosophy of wholesome food and family values represents our commitment to helping people to live healthier lives by moving food in a more nourishing and natural direction. We are committed to supporting diversity, equity, inclusion and safety among our team members and customers. Whitsons has a long and proud history of excellence and growth since 1979 and is setting new standards for the foodservice industry with wholesome foods and family values. Whitsons is among the top 15 Food Management Companies and the top 9 largest K-12 providers in the U.S. For more information, visit www.whitsons.com or Facebook and Twitter.
About the Humane Society of the United States
Founded in 1954, the Humane Society of the United States fights the big fights to end suffering for all animals. Together with millions of supporters, we take on puppy mills, factory farms, trophy hunts, animal testing and other cruel industries. With our affiliates, we rescue and care for tens of thousands of animals every year through our animal rescue team’s work and other hands-on animal care services. We fight all forms of animal cruelty to achieve the vision behind our name: A humane society. Learn more about our work at humanesociety.org. Subscribe to Kitty Block’s blog, A Humane World. Follow the HSUS Media Relations department on Twitter. Read the award-winning All Animals magazine. Listen to the
Humane Voices Podcast.
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