Every year, 30 million kids are served 5 billion school lunches across the U.S., and for many living in food-scarce households, the lunch they’re served in cafeterias is sometimes the only meal they can depend on. That’s one of the reasons why offering nutritious, plant-based foods in K-12 school lunch programs is so critical for health and climate.

But even though many are working to create change, programs like the U.S. Department of Agriculture and the National School Lunch Program push unhealthy, meat- and dairy-heavy meals onto kids’ plates. Now, advocates for healthier food are looking to states like California to lead the way.