Giving Compass' Take:

• Plant-based foods are growing in popularity as more people are becoming vegetarians full-time and innovating foods to keep up the growing demand for more meat alternatives. 

• How can food banks and pantries partner with these innovators to offer vegetarian/vegan individuals that struggle to have access to those foods? 

• Read about the importance of living a meat-free lifestyle. 

For those who think that eating your veggies is boring, there’s good news.

2017 was a banner year for food innovation, particularly when it came to dishes that don’t contain the most common allergens, like wheat, corn and soy.

In fact, who would have figured food disruptors could actually make edible things out of pea protein? More to the point: Who’d think we’d like it?

But vegan foods are becoming more than a fad. While the stats still suggest that the number of hard-core vegans is still pretty small (roughly 2 percent), there’s another impressive stat that is driving new innovation: The numbers of people who for one reason or another are turning to vegetarian cuisine on either a casual or full-time basis.

Many Americans wouldn’t dare consider a vegan burger fitting to be included on a meat and chicken menu. But in January Beyond Meat’s 6-ounce patty will earn an esteemed place at the burger bar. The plant-based sandwich has already passed the muster at six Boston franchises. The product, a meaty, juicy look-alike is the latest vegan concept to become restaurant fare.

Beyond Meat wasn’t the only company to benefit from the growing interest in plant-based foods. Ripple Milk and Impossible Foods, whose products are both made from pea isolates and other plant substances, are capturing a share of the meat alternatives market as well. And say what you will about beans, green peas and those other foods our mothers used fill our plates with, consumers aren’t turning them down.

Read the full article about plant-based foods Jan Lee at TriplePundit