By Kavitha Shankar, VRG volunteer

The US Department of Agriculture’s Food and Nutrition Service (FNS) recently announced that it will recognize soy-based tempeh as a meat/meat alternative¹ that can be served in the Child Nutrition Programs such as the National School Lunch Program a.k.a. school lunches. This allows nutrition program operators to expand their menu offering of vegan/vegetarian items to tempeh and dishes made with tempeh and also to officially count tempeh’s nutrients toward the requirements for the children participating in these programs.

This is good news for vegetarian and vegan children and their families as it adds a nutritious non-meat option. With this inclusion, school lunch programs may start serving tempeh-based items such as sandwiches with tempeh patties, stir-fries, and salads.²

Tempeh, originally from Indonesia, is a fermented soybean product made from whole soybeans.  The Dietary Guidelines for Americans (2015-2020) recognizes soy-based products as being protein-rich and as good sources of copper, manganese, and iron.²

References

¹Food buying guide for Child Nutrition Programs. Food and Nutrition Service Web site. https://foodbuyingguide.fns.usda.gov/files/Reports/USDA_FBG_Section1_MeatsAndMeatAlternatesYieldTable.pdf. Updated August 21, 2019. Accessed October 22, 2019.

²Crediting tempeh in the Child Nutrition Programs. Food and Nutrition Service Web site. https://www.fns.usda.gov/school-meals/crediting-tempeh-child-nutrition-programs. Published April 17, 2019. Accessed October 22, 2019.

For more information about tempeh in school lunch programs see the memo from USDA’s Food and Nutrition Service.

For food service information, see https://www.vrg.org/fsupdate/index.htm