How does this sound? Roasted sweet potato and black bean tacos. Linguini with mushroom sauce. Vegetable risotto with mushroom and asparagus.
And it’s all vegan.
If this sounds like the menu at some high-end restaurant in California, think again. These are items on a school lunch menu… here in Florida.
At Solid Rock Community School in Tarpon Springs, every item that comes out of the cafeteria is 100 percent plant-based. Families can even order vegan to-go meals to take home and eat for dinner. That puts Solid Rock in a pretty small group of K-12 schools in the U.S. that are completely plant-based.
The idea for a plant-based cafeteria came from Solid Rock’s founder and executive director, Michele Fasnacht, who started the school in 2004. The K-12 private school also offers programs like gardening, culinary arts and veterinary education alongside academics.
The Zest team met up with Michele in the school office. In our conversation, she explains why she overhauled the school’s menu. In this episode, you’ll also hear from some Solid Rock students about what they think of the cafeteria food now.
Thanks to Louise Krikorian for suggesting this episode. If you’d like to suggest a Zest guest, email us: info@thezestpodcast.com
