Meatless Mondays – everyone is doing it

My husband and I started Meatless Mondays about two years ago and since then I’ve been very excited to see several of my friends and family adopting this easy, but extremely influential, diet change.  And I’m even more delighted when I see large organizations such as hospitals, universities and restaurants implementing Meatless Monday!

Here are just a few examples (there are many more!) of how businesses and even cities around U.S. are going meatless once a week.

A number of universities across the U.S., from University of Central Florida and University of Maryland on the east and UC Davis and UC Santa Barbara on the west, are educating their students on benefits of eating less meat and are offering Meatless Mondays menu options every week.

Hospitals entered the game, with Valley Hospital in New Jersey and Providence St. Vincent Medical Center in Southwest Portland providing delectable meatless dishes to their patrons every Monday (in addition to the regular menu).  John Hopkins Hospital in Maryland took it a step further and now offers only vegetarian fare at their Cobblestone Cafe on Mondays.

Several public school districts (this article focuses on Baltimore and Oakland) are making a commitment to their students’ health by stocking their cafeterias with meatless lasagnas and cheese sandwiches, instead of burgers and hot dogs on the first day of the week. Even more stories from U.S. News.

Here are a number of restaurants that are taking their role as food educators seriously and providing their customers not only with delicious food, but also healthy alternatives. All have implemented Meatless Mondays on their menus.

And yes, even cities (go San Francisco!) are going meatless once a week!  While, of course meat will be available to anyone who wants it, “restaurants, schools and grocery stores are being encouraged to offer plant-based options.”

If you have other interesting stories about institutions getting on the MM wagon, I’d love to hear them, so don’t hesitate to send them my way.