The vegan diet has become increasingly popular among professional athletes, as well as among their fans. Now, baseball fans will have more vegan-friendly options to choose from while rooting for their team. Aramark, a food service company that caters to ballparks nationwide, just announced its new menu items for the 2018 Major League Baseball (MLB) season, and many of them are vegan.
The new menu is part of Aramark’s healthy living initiative, Healthy for Life 20 by 20. The five-year program, in partnership with the American Heart Association, aims to “Empower Americans to make better food choices…by reducing calories, saturated fat and sodium levels by twenty percent, and increasing fruits, vegetables and whole grains by twenty percent.” This twenty percent change is expected to affect over ten billion Aramark meals by 2020, revolutionizing food service options not only in baseball stadiums, but in schools and universities, businesses, hospitals, entertainment venues, and theme parks.
Carl Mittleman, President of Aramark’s Sports and Entertainment division, told Business Wire: “Food has become a major player in the fan experience and that increased role is a motivating factor for us to continue to enhance our menu offerings each season.” Mittleman continued, ”Ballpark food has come a long way. In addition to doing the classics well, we’re focusing on driving quality, increasing healthy options, making it convenient and providing personalization for our guests.”
Fans can look forward to far more than peanuts and Cracker Jacks at their next game. At PNC Park in Pittsburgh, healthy options are the star. Guests can choose from Greens and Grains with kale, spinach, veggies, quinoa, brown rice, walnuts, and cranberries in a Sriracha-carrot dressing, to the Un-Tuna Salad Sandwich, made with chickpeas and pickle relish in a sweet mayo dressing. Other stadiums will offer heartier options, such as the Impossible Burger at Citi Field (Queens, N.Y.), Vegan ‘Acho Nacho at Rogers Centre (Toronto), and Vegan Cauliflower Cheesesteak at Citizens Bank Park (Philidelphia).
Ballparks independent of Aramark services are also stepping up to bat for the vegan team. Last year, PETA announced its list of the top ten most vegan-friendly ballparks. Among this list are soy chorizo tamales, The Herbivorous Butcher sausages, and an all-vegan food cart.
Image Credit: One Green Planet.
