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Parent Category: About Us

Published on Friday, 01 January 2010 19:59

“It sounds funny but seriously, Oak Grove School has the best food! I look forward to the Alumni Reunions each year mostly to see old friends but secretly I’m excited about eating too!”

Oak Grove School may be the only Pre-K through 12th grade school in the United States with a vegetarian campus. Our meals are primarily organic, often made with produce from our own organic gardens, and completely vegetarian. Yum.

Main House kitchen serves a wide array of vegetarian fare in our award-winning Vegetarian Hot Lunch Program which is available for both day and boarding students. Besant House kitchen offers nutritious and delicious vegetarian evening and weekend meals to residential students. We use locally grown produce whenever possible, and we keep sugar and processed ingredients to an absolute minimum. Our award-winning vegetarian food service is a special benefit to students – our graduates appreciate our commitment to good health!

Students are not required to be vegetarians in order to attend Oak Grove School but no meat is served on campus or on school activities and trips. Residential students may eat meat off campus at their own expense.

There are many famous individuals who were vegetarian! Albert Einstein, Leonardo Da Vinci, and Benjamin Franklin to name a few. There are many benefits to a vegetarian diet both for the individual and for the planet. For example, a growing body of scientific research suggests that reducing the intake of meat helps lower rates of heart disease. Animal agriculture has demonstrable negative effects on the environment too – adding to water pollution and increasing deforestation in some countries. Most importantly, our school’s philosophy includes a commitment to reducing suffering and cruelty in the world. Our founder, J. Krishnamurti, simply encouraged us to observe the fact that eating meat meant the slaughter of a living being.

We ask students and visitors to our campus to respect our commitment to being a vegetarian campus by not eating meat at school or on school related activities; however, Oak Grove School does not force or attempt to force anyone to “become a vegetarian” – that is the personal choice of the individual.

 Why organic? 

As much as possible our kitchens choose to use fresh organic produce, often from our own gardens. Organic fruits and vegetables are free of pesticides and herbicides used in conventional agriculture. These chemicals end up in our streams, rivers, and lakes and often in our water supply, while organic farming methods focus on building the richness of the soil through natural means. The long term effects of ingesting pesticides and herbicides is a controversial topic, but at Oak Grove School we feel it is a better for personal health and the environment to choose organic whenever possible.