Hello BESTers,

Some of you have probably heard that there is a new federal rule 
require public school lunches to include fresh fruits and vegetables 
with all meals they serve.  Child nutrition is a critically important 
issue, and I applaud the efforts to increase healthy food served at 
schools.  However, just because students are served this food does not 
mean they will eat it, and this could lead to a substantial amount of 
food waste.  In fact, as this article describes, the Lake County School 
District had already enacted a similar rule prior to the federal rule.  
The district estimates that Lake County school children will throw away 
$75,000 worth of fruits and vegetables because the children must take 
them but don't eat it.  This is a tough issue to tackle. Requiring 
schools to give every student fresh fruits and vegetables, even if they 
don't want them, may seem ridiculous and will obviously cause waste. On 
the other hand, if the students don't have to take them, many students 
will only take the less healthy food they like.  Maybe schools should 
start a "clean plate club" where students are rewarded for eating all 
their food. Perhaps the answer is for parents to impart the importance 
of healthy food by serving healthy meals with many fruits and vegetables 
at home. It's hard to get kids to eat their vegetables at school when 
they get McDonald's and KFC for dinner. Let's not let this opportunity 
to have healthy food at schools go to waste.

Have a great weekend,
Ryan

http://articles.orlandosentinel.com/2012-02-15/features/os-school-food-waste-20120215_1_chad-wilsky-hunger-free-kids-act-food-waste

Will new food rules fill students' bellies? Or trash cans?
Orlando Sentinel
Erica Rodriguez
February 15, 2012