New York City Includes Meatless Monday in First 10-Year Food Policy Plan

Meatless Monday is proud to announce that the City of New York has taken the next step in its commitment to meat reduction by including Meatless Monday in its first-ever 10-Year Food Policy Plan. Announced by the Mayor’s Office of Food Policy (MOFP) in February 2021, the plan, aptly named Food Forward NYC, is a comprehensive framework designed to bring a more racially and economically equitable, sustainable, and healthy food system to all New Yorkers.

“Recognizing the central role of food in our lives and our city, the 10-year food plan helps chart a path to better harness our food system towards a healthy, equitable, sustainable, and resilient New York,” said Margaret Brown, Senior Attorney at NRDC (Natural Resources Defense Council). “By investing in solutions that reach the root injustices of our food system, we can build a food system that improves our health, builds wealth in low-income communities and communities of color, combats the climate crisis, and better prepares us for unseen challenges ahead.”

After a successful Meatless Monday pilot initiative launched in 2018, all 1800 of the New York City’s public schools now serve vegetarian meals on Mondays. Several other city agencies have adopted Meatless Monday, including NYC Health + Hospitals, the largest public healthcare system in the country, as well as the Department of Homeless Services and the Department of Correction.

Meatless Monday (an initiative of The Monday Campaigns) has grown into a global movement and has been practiced in over 40 countries. Institutions and individuals around the world are making the pledge to cut out meat one day a week for their health and the health of the environment.

Meatless Monday also continues to broaden its reach here in the United States. You can now find Meatless Monday programs in schools, universities, hospitals, restaurants, and corporate cafeterias spanning across the country—from small towns like Bedford, NY,  Needham, Massachusetts to major cities like Los Angeles, California.

Interested in brining Meatless Monday to your business, school, town, or city? Click here to start Meatless Monday in your city and learn how to take the first steps in improving the health of your community.