Bill De Blasio Institutes ‘Meat Free Mondays’ in NYC Public Schools

New York City Mayor Bill de Blasio announced Monday that public schools in New York City would no longer serve meat to students on Monday of each week.

De Blasio and NYC Schools Chancellor Richard Carranza said during Monday’s announcement at P.S. 130 in Brooklyn that the change aimed to “reduce greenhouse gas emissions” and “improve” the health of students.

“Cutting back on meat a little will improve New Yorkers’ health and reduce greenhouse gas emissions,” de Blasio told Politico.

The announcement comes as the city is looking to expand a spring 2018 pilot program called “Jumpstart Mondays” where 15 public schools provided meat-free menu offerings to its students.

P.S. 130, where de Blasio made his announcement, was one of the schools selected to take part in the pilot program, CBS New York reported.

Carranza claimed that the expanded program would allow 1,800 New York City public schools to provide taxpayer-funded vegetarian breakfast and lunch options at no cost to the students every Monday.

“It will reduce the risk of heart disease and cancer,” Carranza told WPIX.

The Meatless Mondays program would take effect in fall 2019.

De Blasio, who has not ruled out mounting a presidential bid in the 2020 election, has pushed for other “free” programs for New York City residents.

In January, de Blasio announced that New York City would provide health care to approximately 600,000 uninsured residents, including illegal aliens.