Health

Links and resources outlining why a plant-based diet can benefit your health

The Doctors Kitchen
Improve your health using food
5 plant based sources of protein

https://www.meatfreemondays.com
One day a week can make a world of difference
https://www.meatfreemondays.com/why-it-matters/
https://www.mondaycampaigns.org/meatless-monday/resources
Meatfree Monday Impact Calculator - see the difference you can make

British Heart Foundation
Healthy Eating Toolkit

Forward Food - Forward Food is a campaign to encourage and enable the catering industry to shift the focus of menus away from meals centred primarily on animal products and put more plant-based food on plates.
Business Case
Recipes

Explore Seasonal Fruit and Vegetables in Europe with the EUFIC interactive seasonal fruit and veg map.

The Soil Association’s Food for Life programme brings schools, nurseries, hospitals and care homes, and their surrounding communities together around the core ethos of healthy, tasty and sustainable food

BEUC - Consumers and the transition to sustainable food report - 10 takeaways

Sustain have embedded support for better public food procurement across a whole range of their programmes, including: Better Hospital Food, Children’s Food Campaign and Sustainable Food Cities.

Environment

Links and resources on the environmental impact and benefits of following a more plant-based diet

WWF
https://www.wwf.org.uk/what-we-do/food
https://www.wwf.org.uk/sites/default/files/2016-10/Plant2Plate_Food_for_Thought.pdf

The Darwin Challenge
The Darwin Challenge app has been created for those of you who have one or more meatfree days a week. This life-giving app rewards you, by showing you how your meat-free days are improving your health and your world. Small acts, big impacts.

Explore Seasonal Fruit and Vegetables in Europe with the EUFIC interactive seasonal fruit and veg map.

TUCO Greenhouse Gas Footprint Calculator

BEUC - One Bite At a Time: Consumers and the transition to sustainable food report

Proveg
‘Plan(t)s for Professionals Guide to serving more plant-based menu options

PETA’s catering recipe pack (for hospital or university caterers, can be adaptable for schools by reducing sugar, fat, and salt content).
The PETA Guide To Introducing Vegan Options
PETA Sample Menu 1 - produced with TUCO for university caterers
PETA Sample Menu 2 - produced with TUCO for university caterers

Eating Better - Better by half road map

KALE YEAH!
Kale Yeah! is a scheme designed by Friends of the Earth to help caterers sign up to the 20% less meat pledge. Resources include a chefs' toolkit, a guide to rebalancing menus and a step-by-step guide to launching a veggie loyalty scheme. 

Edinburgh Napier Meat Free Monday Case Study | Read more

Kale Yeah! University of Portsmouth veggie loyalty card pilot | Read more

Friends of the Earth launches scheme to help caterers serve more plant-based food | Read more

Workplace caterer Eurest, develops six plant-based meals to support the immunity of employees | Read more

Forward Food Case Study: University of St. Andrews | Read more

Forward Food Case Study: University of Winchester | Read more

How schools and caterers can help children learn to love veg | Read more

If you have any case studies of your own to share with us please email edward.waddell@dewberryredpoint.co.uk or get in touch via our contact us page.

The provision of plant-based meals continues to grow across the UK and in the public sector in particular. This is driven both by demand from the ‘customer’ and by the Government’s environmental and obesity agendas which support a more plant-based diet.

The cost of living crisis is adding to the need for more plant-based options on the menu as public sector caterers look for meat replacement products to save on cost. In a recent PSC survey (February 2023):

• 69% of respondents said they had reduced or were considering reducing the amount of meat on their menu
• 32% were now using meat replacement products instead of meat and a further 16% were considering it

This is not having a negative impact on customer perception with 63.5% of Brits choosing to buy vegan products in 2021 and many more eating vegetarian meals.

Plant-Based Week has been a focus for public sector caterers wanting to understand more about the benefits of plant-based food on the menu and the variety of options open to them for the last three years. It also gives them tools to share that information with their customers.

For 2023 we have a new look to Public Sector Catering's Plant-Based Week. We will continue to share toolkits for caterers to promote the week and share information with their customers, and we will also share recipe inspiration from our business partners and look at new products available to support caterers in serving better plant-based solutions.

The theme this year is ‘Be a Plant-Based Food Hero’. Each day will have a different focus, looking at the benefits of a plant-based diet, at the people who provide amazing menus, and at how using plant-based dishes can save caterers money. 

The daily themes and content are:

• Monday – Impact on the planet, how becoming a plant-based hero can help the environment
• Tuesday – Cost-saving benefits, how becoming a plant-based hero can save money
• Wednesday – We will be joined by key advocates of plant-based food, for the Plant-Based Heroes webinar to discuss its benefits and how to serve up the best solutions.  REGISTER FREE
• Thursday – Hero products, the supplier heroes
• Friday – Plant-Based Hero day

The plan for the week includes:

• Promotion from March to June 2023 across Public Sector Catering's media portfolio
• A call to action for PSC's Plant-Based Day, encouraging all public sector caterers to set aside one day in the week to serve only plant-based food
• A downloadable toolkit of literature explaining benefits of a more plant-based diet
• Special issue of Public Sector Catering magazine
• Dedicated area on PSC Website and daily newsletter takeover for week
• Webinar discussing the future of plant-based food in public sector catering
• Video recipe content from business partners
• Best new plant-based products
• Awards for our industry Plant-Based Heroes. Nominate your 'Plant-Based Hero (or heroes) online.

If you are a supplier and wish to find out more about how you can become a Plant-Based Week Partner click here.