Partnering with the Brazilian Vegetarian Society (Sociedade Vegetariana Brasileira - SVB), the program Novos Sabores (New Flavors) offers school meals with assorted plant-based dishes every Wednesday.

School meals of over 12 thousand students from municipal schools and daycare centers at the coastal city of Ubatuba (SP) are full of exciting new flavors. Every Wednesday as of June 1st, the students shall have 100% vegetable delicacies to nurture themselves, such as carioca bean burgers, nutritious pasta, feijoada and, for dessert, banana cake.

These delicacies were taught to more than 60 cooks in the city so that the Novos Sabores program could be put into practice, a partnership between the Brazilian Vegetarian Society (SVB) and the Municipality of Ubatuba.

“In May, we had the pleasure of welcoming the SVB team who, in a very hospitable and enlightening manner, introduced us to the initiative of privileging plant  protein sources once a week", comments the technician in Nutrition of the Municipal Department of Education of Ubatuba, Vilma Moreira Santos.

The Municipality aims to bring more health to children by instituting Wednesday as the day of the week in which school and daycare students can expand their palates and discover the variety of meals that can be made without animal products. On Wednesdays, vegetables, legumes, grains and fruits are valued and become protagonists of the meals.

On June 1st, SVB took the mascot Super Bean to the coast of São Paulo for the launch of the new menu ,making the news even more fun for approximately 600 students of the Governador Mário Covas Municipal School and  400 children from EMEI Helena Maria Mendes Alves.

"It is very important to offer students an alternative meal that values fruits and vegetables. These are meals that will provide benefits for the children's health, with less consumption of fat and more vitamins and fibers. Moreover, they will have the opportunity to discover new flavors -  hence the name of the program", explains the municipal secretary of Education, Fatinha Barros.

Before its launch,  the Novos Sabores program had orientation lectures for school directors and coordinators, as well as employees of the Ubatuba Municipal Department of Education. After that, the students' parents were also invited to receive information about the benefits of plant-based food.

Rich in nutrients, vegetables have all the dietary nutritional requirements when  composing a well-planned dish, consisting of 50% raw or cooked vegetables and legumes (kale, carrots and others), 25% cereals, such as rice, or starchy vegetables, such as potatoes, and the remaining 25% with pulses, such as beans and lentils.

"In addition to helping children expand their range of food, the Novos Sabores program will serve as a tool for the Municipality of Ubatuba to reaffirm its commitment to the UN's Sustainable Development Goals", emphasizes Mônica Buava, executive director of SVB.

Municipalities interested in offering these options to students can contact SVB - the non-profit organization provides training and offers menu suggestions, in addition to explaining the positive impact of changing animal protein (meat, eggs and dairy products), for plant protein at least one day of the week. At the same time that children and teens eat healthy, they are contributing to the well-being of animals, to the preservation of the planet and to their own health, as a diet centered on vegetables is linked to lower rates of obesity, cholesterol, blood pressure, diabetes and coronary heart disease.

ABOUT THE BRAZILIAN VEGETARIAN SOCIETY

Founded in 2003, Sociedade Vegetariana Brasileira (SVB) is a non-profit organization that promotes vegetarian food as an ethical, healthy, sustainable and socially fair choice. Through campaigns, programs, agreements, events, research and activism, SVB raises awareness about the benefits of vegetarianism and works to increase the population's access to vegetarian products and services. For more information, visit www.svb.org.br or the profiles on Instagram, Facebook and Youtube.

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