By Reed Mangels, PhD, RD

The Environmental Working Group (EWG) is a non-profit organization whose mission is “to empower you with breakthrough research to make informed choices and live a healthy life in a healthy environment.” They  conducted a survey examining how often facilities run by the federal government offered vegetarian or plant-based (containing dried beans or peas, nuts, seeds, or soy products) options. The survey included 521 federal dining facilities such as federal prisons, national parks, Veteran’s Administration (VA) hospitals, museums, and government buildings.

Overall, they found that 47% of facilities offered a plant-based or vegetarian option more than three days a week, 41% offered this option three days a week, 8% sometimes offered a plant-based or vegetarian option but this was offered less than three times a week, and 4% never offered a plant-based or vegetarian option.

When different types of facilities were examined, the survey found that:

• 100% of federal prisons offer inmates a plant-based or vegetarian option at every meal.
• 80% of domestic Defense Department facilities surveyed provide a plant-based or vegetarian option three or more times a week.
• 74% of VA hospitals surveyed provide a plant-based or vegetarian option at least three days a week.
• 99% of the National Parks dining facilities surveyed offered visitors a plant-based or vegetarian option at least three times a week.
• Over 50% of federal museums and other tourist attractions offer a plant-based or vegetarian option more than three times a week.

In some cases, options were limited to a bean- or plant-based patty or a salad and were faulted for lacking variety. In other cases, there were concerns about the nutritional adequacy of offerings such as a slice of cheese pizza or a bowl of vegetable soup.

You can read more about the survey at:

Federal Facilities Should Offer More Plant-based or Vegetarian Options. Environmental Working Group. August 2022.

To read more about vegetarian options in federal facilities see:

Veggie Meals In (or Near) National Parks

Prisoners’ Rights, Religious Practice, and Vegan Meals in Prison

Do Prison Inmates have a Right to Vegetarian Meals?

Food Service Update and Quantity Cooking Information