Queens vegetarian dining switch has shown student improvement, officials say 2013-10-17 (2)

Oct. 17—Their school swapped sloppy joes and fried chicken for organic roasted tofu and braised black beans, and these kids ain’t complaining.

Students at the top-rated Public School 244, in Flushing, have longer attention spans and better academic scores since the school went vegetarian, school officials said.

The school was recognized Tuesday by the Physicians Committee for Responsible Medicine, a Washington, D.C.-based advocacy group that promotes plant-based diets, for becoming the country’s first public school to serve vegetarian-only meals in its cafeteria.