or less calories from saturated fat and zero
grams of trans-fat. MCPS also exceeds
national standards for sodium in its food,
with sodium levels that are lower than the
limit set by the USDA.

But non-meat options for students have
been mostly limited to items like pizza,
grilled cheese, and peanut butter and jelly
sandwiches, which aren’t exactly the health-
iest choices. And, many MCPS students
have expressed the desire for more variety
in lunch offerings to meet the dietary needs
of vegetarians, vegans, students with food
allergies and those with religious restric-
tions such as halal or kosher diets. The
district’s partnership with Real Food for
Kids and Silver Diner— which has one of the
healthiest kids’ menus in the country—seeks
to provide those options.

“Silver Diner has a lot of experience with
vegan foods, and Chef Ype understands food
as a sensory experience,” says Moore. “He
created recipes for MCPS that show what a
vegan dish can be in terms of colors, aromas
and textures.”
Von Hengst helps students competing to get their dish
added to school menus.

PHOTOS COURTESY OF DEB LINDSEY
A Changing Lunch Menu
Addy Hogan is one MCPS student who wel-
comes the idea of seeing more plant-based
options on the school lunch menu. The
Takoma Park Middle School eighth-grader
is one of the students who participated in
the focus group to taste and provide feed-
back on Chef Ype’s recipes. While she’s not a
strict vegetarian, Addy does stick to a mostly
plant-based diet.

“I like to stay away from meats because it’s
healthier, and it makes me feel better,” Addy
says. “Plus, it’s better for the environment.”
Addy says that while she mostly liked the
recipes, she thought some of them were a lit-
tle too difficult and messy for busy students
Silver Diner Chef Ype Von Hengst, student advocate,
Real Food for Kids Culinary Challenge
Even kids who don’t suffer from food insecurity often only have access
to highly processed foods that are high in calories, sodium and fat.

WashingtonFAMILY.com 17