Newton North student Alicia Qiu has spent the past year working with Chartwells, the district's cafeteria contractor, to get more plant-based meals onto Newton Public Schools lunch trays. With schools opening Wednesday, Sept. 2, the effort is picking up allies across the district.
Qiu organized a taste-testing event at Newton North in fall 2025 where students sampled General Tso's Tofu and eggplant zucchini casserole, then voted on which dish to add to the regular rotating menu, Fig City News reported. Newton South held a similar event on Dec. 18, organized by student Sydney Hanley of the school's Sustainability Squad club.
The student push is backed by Green Newton's Green Plate Committee, which advocates for more plant-based cafeteria options and collaborates directly with Chartwells, according to the nonprofit's Aug. 9 impact report.
On May 22, Qiu and six other Newton North and South students met with Mayor Marc Laredo to present a petition signed by more than 50 high school students urging Newton to endorse the Plant Based Treaty, which neighboring Somerville and Cambridge have already signed. They were joined by Marcia Cooper, Green Newton board member and president emerita, and Kimmy Cushman of Plant Based Treaty.
"There are already many simple steps we can take towards a more sustainable food system, such as having the high schools offer more flavorful, hot, plant-based lunch options," Qiu told the mayor at the May 22 meeting, according to Fig City News.
Laredo said afterward that he looks forward to "continued conversations about expanding healthy, sustainable food options" in Newton schools and city programs.
The campaign has now reached the elementary level. On June 12, the Mason-Rice PTO posted on Instagram recruiting parent volunteers to help the Green Plate Committee expand plant-based lunch options, directing interested families to Anna Allen, PTO chair of community outreach.
Chartwells operates a national plant-forward program called "Veg Out" with more than 120 vegan and vegetarian options. In a 2022 company survey, one in three school-aged students rated vegetarian or vegan options as extremely or very important when choosing lunch, and 37% said they would eat school lunch more often with more such choices. Qiu has pointed out that Brookline Public Schools already serve plant-based meals daily.
No Newton School Committee member or NPS food services representative has publicly commented on the Green Plate Committee's cafeteria push. The School Committee has not yet posted its fall meeting schedule.
