Last week, those of you in attendance voted nearly unanimously in favor of adding Lake Fellowship to a list of united congregations in support of making Minnesota's universal school meal more inclusive and equitable.
Genevieve Vavreck from MN Plant-Based Kids responded to our participation with the following message:
You are added to the letter. Thank you so much for your time and support.
If people are interested in continuing work on this issue, here are some ideas:
- Coordinate weekly constituent call-ins to their MN Senate and MN House Representatives asking them to support plant-based school meal option.
- Individuals can write personal letters to their MN legislators or try to schedule a meeting with them to discuss the issue. UUCM hosts a letter writing event once a month during the session that is a fun way to do this. I have a one-pager HERE if people want more background beyond the letter of inclusion.
- Individuals can write OpEds to local newspapers.
- Individuals can lobby their local school districts or school boards asking them to start offering a daily plant-based meal now instead of waiting for legislation to be passed. Or ask schools to sign up for the Humane Society's Forward Food Pledge.
- Schedule a Fork to Forest presentation with Anna Larsson <anna.larsson.us@gmail.com> and Nicola Philpott <njphilpott@hotmail.com>. The presentation has a plant-foward / flexitarian message about the impacts of our food system on the environment and climate.
- Schedule a presentation or cooking class with Jodi Gruhn <jodi.gruhn@exploreveg.org> from Wholesome MN.
- Urge MPCA to add “plant-forward food system” to Minnesota’s Climate Action Framework. This should include plant-based default in all public institutions and plant-based school meal option in all MN schools. Comments are due by Tuesday, January 28 https://engage.eqb.state.
mn.us/climate-action- framework-update - I think this would be a great topic for the UU Animal Ministries Albert Schweitzer sermon contest. It must be presented by June 30, 2025. https://www.uuam.org/
sermon-contest - Other ideas that fit into the culture and advocacy activities of each individual congregation.
Your support is greatly appreciated.