It’s time for plant-based schools across Poland. It’s time for the law to stop limiting Polish schools. Polish schools deserve healthy, plant-based food. On Friday, October 4th, 2024, a press conference for our Plant-Based School Program was held in front of the Ministry of Health.

The press conference preceded the submission of the appeal and petition „It’s Time for Plant-Based Schools” to the Minister of Health, Izabela Leszczyna. The appeal, calling for access to healthy, plant-based meals in Polish schools and kindergartens, has been signed and supported by over 3,000 people. The initiative has also garnered support from numerous politicians. The allies of the Plant-Based School initiative include members of the Polish Parliament, Members of the European Parliament, local councilors, and opinion leaders.

Magdalena Biejat, Deputy Speaker of the Senate, stated: “I am here as the Deputy Speaker of the Senate, a representative of the Razem Party, but also as the mother of two children. Healthy, good food is something all children deserve. Introducing plant-based options offers everyone equal treatment, better health, and a better life.”

Filip Pelc, Councilor for the Białołęka District, added: “As a vegan and a father, I have personally encountered issues with access to plant-based food in kindergartens in Warsaw. Together with Green REV Institute, we are working to improve access to plant-based meals, and I hope the situation will change soon.”

Marta Szczepańska, councilor of Warsaw and member of the Miasto Jest Nasze group, said: “Our support for the Plant-Based School is dedicated to all those who have to struggle in the school canteen, trying to figure out what to eat without facing health consequences! We are eagerly awaiting swift changes so no one feels different in the school canteen, and parents no longer have to worry about what to pack in their children’s backpacks to ensure their health.”

Urszula Kałłaur, Councilor for the Ochota District, emphasized: “The right to healthy food is a right to freedom of conscience, as outlined in the Convention on the Rights of the Child. I strongly call for changes to the regulation!”

Over 3,000 individuals, decision-makers, and civil society organizations are calling for Plant-Based Schools across Poland. The Plant-Based School Program aims to reform the food system from the ground up, focusing on schools and education as central to fixing our food system. However, a key obstacle to the right to healthy, plant-based food is the Regulation of the Minister of Health, dated July 26, 2016, on groups of food products intended for sale to children and adolescents in educational institutions, as well as the standards that food products in collective school meals must meet. This regulation mandates that students must receive milk or dairy products daily and fish once a week. This rule hinders the plant-based transformation of Polish schools and restricts access to plant-based food for the growing number of individuals who, due to allergies, intolerances, beliefs, or empathy, choose to eat plant-based.

At Green REV Institute, we are actively advocating for legal changes. In April 2024, Professor Marcin Wiącek, the Polish Ombudsperson, addressed the regulation to the Ministry of Health. The Supreme Audit Office is also conducting investigations into this issue. Green REV Institute has requested over 400 menus from schools in the Mazowieckie region, and the analysis of these menus highlights the scale of the problem—qualitative food poverty in Polish school lunches. The issue of the regulation has already been raised by Green REV with the Ministry of Health, the Ministry of National Education, the Ministry of Climate and Environment, the Children’s Rights Ombudsperson, and local authorities.

Credit: Jakub Wosik