With all the emphasis on making sure our kids eat healthy meals, school meal programs on Long Island are suffering. My 10-year-old granddaughter, Lily [Lilliana Mae Johnson], is vegan and when she forgot her lunch one day, the school cafeteria offered her a lettuce and tomato wrap—not much nutrition there!

So, that night, with the help of a friend from the Coalition for Healthy School Food, Lily wrote a letter to her principal. She told the principal about the problem—no adequate food options for her—and offered a solution—providing vegan options.

A few weeks later, Lily was invited to a gala/fundraiser hosted by the coalition. Lily stood up in front of a room full of people and told her story and that she had written a letter to her principal.  After her presentation, she was informed by the coalition that the food services company in her district would be serving vegan options every day in her school cafeteria.

It’s amazing what can happen when a 10-year-old is passionate about something, speaks her mind, and people listen and take action.

In addition, Lily is a student council member and animal rights activist. She spends her spare time doing gymnastics, self-defense training, and arts and crafts. Her goals include creating a peaceful world, becoming a lawyer, and becoming president of the United States.

Source: Irene Stacy, an administration staff member at Center for the Alignment of Body, Mind, and Spirit, in Wantagh (and a really proud grandma).