Trinity Launches Meatless Monday Lunches

Trinity College joins the growing list of organizations participating in Meatless Monday. Strachan Hall hosts Meatless Monday Lunches on a weekly basis, beginning Monday, January 14, 2019. The goal of our initiative is to come together as an organization to raise awareness of the impact of our food choices and to encourage healthier and more sustainable eating by trying plant-based, one meal per week.

Why Meatless Mondays?

During the fall 2018 semester, several Trinity students brought forward the idea of starting a Meatless Monday lunch service. After discussion at the Student Food Advisory Committee, we consulted students in the Food Survey on how to successfully implement Meatless Mondays lunch service. Survey respondents indicated that:

• Meatless Mondays lunch service should be utilized as an opportunity to trial high-quality vegetarian and vegan meals;
• A variety of vegetarian and vegan proteins should be available;
• Trinity should continue to offer limited meat options during lunch.

Trinity’s Meatless Monday Lunch initiative aims to help empower not only students, but the larger Trinity community, and to reflect our commitment to corporate social responsibility by helping achieve a kinder, cleaner, and healthier world.

One of Trinity’s strengths lies in the diversity of the student population and this extends to diversity of opinion as well. Adhering to our vision and commitment to health and well-being, changes to the Strachan menu will be made based on overall trends in comments and ratings as we look to satisfy the majority of students. Changes will also be aligned with the overall direction of offering healthier, heartier, and more wholesome food options. Responding to student feedback from the Food Survey, during Meatless Monday lunches there will be a limited amount of animal-based proteins on the salad bar. We are currently in the process of analyzing the survey data and will be consulting with the Student Food Advisory Committee regarding implementing your feedback.

If you have questions or comments please feel free to reach out to Ramata Tarawally, Associate Director, Community Wellness at rtarawally@trinity.utoronto.ca.

Learn more about Meatless Mondays

Meatless Monday was initiated as a measure for saving resources during World War I and II. It was re-introduced in 2003 by the Monday Campaigns and Johns Hopkins School of Public Health as a health initiative, geared towards reducing our society’s over consumption of meat by 15% – equivalent to one day per week.

As Canadians, our per capita meat consumption is among the highest in the world. Trying plant-based eating, even once per week, can reduce our risk of preventable health conditions including cardiovascular disease, diabetes, and obesity. The Canadian Cancer Society also recommends lowering our intake of meat, noting that a diet high in red and processed meat has been linked to an increased risk of colorectal cancer.

For more information: https://www.meatlessmonday.com/about-us/history/

Categories: College News; Student News; Sustainability