Owners of a Chester nursery have decided to adopt a 100% vegan menu in a bid to make their business more sustainable, protect the environment and improve the children’s future.
Claire and Stuart Taylor, co-owners of Jigsaw Day Nurseries on Wrexham Road, Chester, have 260 children at its Curzon House and Ash Tree Farm sites.
The couple recently changed the nurseries menu to adopt plant-based diets based on different cuisines from around the world in order to slash the business’s carbon footprint by eliminating meat, fish, eggs and dairy products.
According to the couple the decision was well thought out with the children and the planet’s future in mind.
“We feel passionately that a sustainable path is the one we wish to follow for the benefit of our children’s future,” said Mrs. Taylor
“The food that the children eat within our nurseries not only has an impact on everyone in the setting but also on the health of our planet.”
Mrs. Taylor confirmed that the menu was curated after consulting an experienced and fully-qualified nutritionist, who helped the company finalize a “highly nutritious, varied and sustainable menu which meets all of the relevant guidelines for early years nutrition and diet for children under the age of five.”
Disgruntled parents
The decision didn’t go down too well with a segment of concerned parents who lashed out at the couple stating they were not consulted about the switch to plant-based meals and the decision was an imposition stuffed down their throats.
“It’s just bonkers,” said a mum to The Standard.
“Just to enforce it on us without any say isn’t right – they shouldn’t be making these decisions on my behalf. If my daughter wants to be a vegan when she’s older then that’s fine but I’ll have that conversation with her myself.”
Another mother who shared the outline of the meals that would be on the nurseries menu with The Standard was unhappy that her daughter’s favourite food items had been excluded.
She said: “There’s obviously no cheese, which my daughter loves, and no meat or the goodness from fish. It’s such a huge, drastic change and I’m not happy about it.”
“To impose a lifestyle choice on these children before they can make their own mind up is plain wrong,” complained a third parent.
“I like to think I cook healthy and nutritious meals for my children which include meat and vegetables.
“My son has a big appetite as well; I think he’ll come home starving. To go veggie is one thing, but to go full-on vegan is just madness.”
Response
Mrs. Taylor confirmed the company conducted an informal consultation process over several months which resulted in a very split response to the plant-based menu and she agreed the roll-out could’ve been handled differently.
“We would have done things differently may be because our parents didn’t feel quite informed enough about what we were doing, which they do now,” she said.
“I do understand people would feel a little bit perplexed about what we’ve done if they felt it was an enforcement.
“But we are just trying to provide healthy, nutritious food in a balanced way. We haven’t rushed into this and we do believe our carbon footprint – well, we know – it is going to be reduced. It’s quite incredible, we have looked at the stats towards how much it will impact.”
Denying the change to be too “drastic,” which could hamper the children’s nutritional requirements, Mrs. Taylor added: “The change is far less drastic than it sounds. Our current menu is 40 percent vegetarian and all the dishes on our new menu are existing dishes which have been adapted to make them plant-based.
“This means our children are fully familiar with the tastes, textures and flavours we are going to be feeding them which should ensure the transition is a smooth one.
“Our sole focus has been on making a significant and impactful change for the good of our children’s environmental futures whilst ring fencing this with robust nutritional planning which meets all the recommended early years guidelines.”
Happy parents
Parents on the other side of the fence appreciated the couple and welcomed the move on social media.
“It’s like saying you don’t want your children to be educated in what will save our planet!” wrote one parent on Facebook.
“Vegan or not, this is an incredibly healthy sounding menu and I am thrilled our son will be eating this kind of food.
“If anything, it takes the pressure off having to feed him uber healthy food at home because I know he’ll have had a wholesome and nutritious meal at nursery.
“If Jigsaw loses a few customers due to this change they will only gain more from new, interested and like-minded parents, so it’s not a business risk at all.”
Should other educational institutes follow suit? Share your thoughts in the comments below!
Lifestyle
Vegan culture, food, beauty & more
Gordon Ramsay Ditches Vegan Hate and Backs Flora’s Plant-Based Butter in New ‘Skip the Cow’ Campaign
- Totally Vegan Buzz Team
- 28th January 2025
Celebrity chef Gordon Ramsay, once infamous for his digs at vegans, has taken a sharp turn in the kitchen. Ramsay has teamed up with Flora, the famous UK-based spread brand, as its global ambassador, marking a bold new chapter in Flora’s “Skip the Cow” campaign. Flora, established in 1964, has long been a household name …
The Top 10 Vegan-Friendly Places in Latin America
- Totally Vegan Buzz Team
- 27th January 2025
Latin America is experiencing an extraordinary rise in plant-based dining options. A new study, spearheaded by Veganuary in partnership with the food discovery platform HappyCow, reveals that Latin America now boasts over 10,000 vegan, vegetarian, and vegan-friendly restaurants—an impressive 21.6% jump compared to last year. Brazil takes the crown as the number one country, with …
Continue reading “The Top 10 Vegan-Friendly Places in Latin America”
VEGAN MEMES
NEED A LAUGH?
QUIZZES
All the quizzes you love to binge!
QUIZ: If you score 11/12 on this quiz, you’re a verified vegan food expert
- Marlon Farrugia
- 10th January 2020
How much vegan knowledge do you have stored away? Do you have to Google your way through a shopping trip, or do you have all the bad E-numbers memorised? Find out now with this quiz. [wpViralQuiz id=27203]
QUIZ: What is your perfect Vegan Halloween Costume?
- Marlon Farrugia
- 13th October 2019
Spook Season approaches. There will be ghosts, goblins, ghouls, and glucose. You need a costume, and you want to it to show off your personality, which means VEGAN. But what to choose? Take our quiz to find out your perfect outfit. [wpViralQuiz id=33494]
QUIZ: What kind of vegetable are you?
- Marlon Farrugia
- 26th September 2019
“If you were a vegetable, what kind would you be?” A question that has tormented humanity throughout the ages – until now. [wpViralQuiz id=31281] Read: QUIZ: If you score 19/20 on THIS quiz, you’re a Vegan God