Daughters of Sarah Community for Seniors was one of only 10 organizations nationwide to participate in a first-ever virtual culinary training focused on bringing more sustainable plant-based menu items to kosher meals and the Jewish community.
Mark Koblenz, Chief Executive Officer at Daughters of Sarah Community for Seniors, said: “Collaborating with this organization has been an outstanding opportunity to make a major impact for the planet, animals, and the communities that Hazon works with. Providing clean, accessible kosher food to all of our guests is what we strive to do every day. We applaud Hazon for being so forward-thinking in their desire to increase delicious, nutritious plant-based options which will be welcome by all guests of the Daughters of Sarah Community.”
Robert Carr, Director of Food Services at Daughters of Sarah said: “This training will allow us to provide more – and healthier – options to our residents and staff. While we currently serve 18% plant-based items, this training and the options it provided goes a long way toward our goal of achieving 25% plant-based entrees throughout our Community by 2025.”
Paul Ozimek, Executive Chef at Daughters of Sarah said: “There are countless health benefits from reducing the intake of meats and dairy in our menu choices. I personally practice and promote plant-based meals as more delicious than their meaty alternatives. Thanks to Hazon, we have more opportunities to provide our residents in a forward-thinking and innovative way.”
Chef Paul from Daughters of Sarah Community for Seniors was among the 20 training participants representing 10 organizations, which included organizations from around the nation. Combined, these organizations serve over 10,500 people per day and over 2.3 million meals per year.
Qualitative assessments have determined that these programs provide win-win-win outcomes – for the diners, who seek a healthier, more inclusive, and still tasty dining experience; for the organizations, who want to promote a culture of sustainable and “kinder” dining and expand their delicious, high protein, pareve repertoire in cost-effective ways; and for the chefs and dining staff, who appreciate the professional development as well as the opportunity to better align with their organizations’ Jewish values.
Each organization will save 1,600 kg of CO2 every time it serves 1,000 plant-based meals (the equivalent of driving the entire length of the United States from Juneau, Alaska to Jacksonville, Florida), which has a significant immediate impact on their climate footprint, and also meaningfully shifts Jewish institutional culture toward more climate- and Earth-friendly food practices that can be advanced across dining operations over time.