In the 1970s and 1980s, The Hollow Reed was a notable vegetarian restaurant on Fore Street. Celebrity chef Toni Fiore first filmed the PBS cooking show "Totally Vegetarian" in 2002 at the cable access station in Portland. The "Portland Press Herald" has featured a vegan column by Avery Yale Kamila in its Food & Dining section since 2009. In 2011, the Portland Public Schools added a daily vegetarian cold lunch option to its school menus. In 2019, the district changed to a daily hot vegan school meal option.