Free school meals - plant based/vegan families?

[Moon12345]

Started looking at primary schools for my DS who starts school next year and understand all children are entitled to free school meals up until year 2, which in theory is great. His pre-school is a forest school so I send him with packed lunches at the moment, as hot food not an option as they eat outside. I’ve had a look at the menu for our county and there is almost nothing vegan or plant based, which is how we eat/have raised him so far. We aren’t super strict (e.g. other kids birthdays at school and they bring in cake he eats this, so on occasion if we are somewhere and there is no vegan option/it means him missing out he just has something with dairy in - not meat though. And he has no allergies.). It doesn’t look like they offer to provide a vegan alternative - any plant based families with school aged children with any experience in this? I don’t want him to be excluded by being the only child with a packed lunch, but I also don’t want him eating rubbish 5 days a week. The veggie options all contain dairy (again fine with this occasionally but don’t want him eating it every single day) and are also generally quorn which is also full of rubbish. Until he’s old enough to decide for himself I don’t want him to eat meat, and anyway, those options also sound unhealthy - pizza/hot dogs/fish fingers every single day. Might sound like I’m asking for a lot but I’m just really surprised that the food options are so basic and largely unhealthy. Any advice appreciated!

This is an old thread, but certainly in both primary schools my dc has attended, there is always a vegan option for lunch. There is definitely a vegetarian option every day (which is sometimes vegan), but a jacket potato is always on the menu with beans and salad (you could inquire about vegan spread or send your own). Fresh fruit at morning break time and there are three pudding options for lunch, at least one of which is always fruit based and vegan.

We live in a very old school traditional farming region, so it’s not because we’ve gone all new age and hippie. It’s simply because it’s not that hard to offer vegetarian/vegan options, if you aren’t super fussy. The super fussy ones (who don’t appear to be the vegan ones) just bring a packed lunch.

My daughters school menu catered to vegan and gluten free.

To all those saying vegan is a choice that shouldn't be catered for- it's a protected characteristic like a religious need so it must be provided if asked.
No you're conflating two things here.
Ethical veganism is a protected characteristic not dietary veganism. It is clear from the OP that this is dietary veganism e.g. she shows flexibility at parties.
From the horse's mouth: https://veganfta.com/2023/01/03/three-years-since-ethical-veganism-became-protected-in-great-britain/

From the vegan society:
"If there are only a small number of vegan children, they may argue that it would be too expensive for them to make changes. The information below should help you make the case for vegan provision, but ultimately the decision will sit with the head teacher or governors."
https://www.vegansociety.com/take-action/campaigns/catering-everyone/information-news/schools

FWIW OP, DS's school provide a plant-based option every day. My issue is they over-rely on fake meat which I don't think is that nutritious.

Our village primary has jacket potatoes with beans and tomato pasta available every day, although that will get very boring very quickly and doesn't provide a great balance of nutrients. There is a veggie option everyday too, which is sometimes vegan. There is a similar set up at DC1's middle school, which is run by a different catering company, and I expect it's fairly standard across many schools.
We found a good number of DCs had packed lunches in both of our DCs' classes instead of the free hot meals for a variety of reasons, so they are unlikely to stick out with one.

They legally have to provide vegan options , it's a protected belief under the human rights act ... & they do provide really good plant based options if you let them know .

How is it a protected characteristic under the equality act? A genuine question? Unless it is for religious reason or for a disability?