Protests Over School Lunches

By Dr. Marciene Mattleman

PHILADELPHIA (CBS) - We usually think of young protesters as college students; however, high schoolers across the country are protesting over entrees, side dishes, and lower-fat versions of milk offered under the federal Healthy, Hunger-Free Kids Act.

For several days, students at Parsippany Hills High School in New Jersey boycotted school lunches and in Mukwonago, Wisconsin, school meal participation is down 70%, quoted from the New York Times.

More variety and servings of fruits and vegetables at each meal, less salt, more grains and for the first time, minimum and maximum calorie ranges are set for meals. Plans for limiting potatoes and counting the tomato paste in pizza as a vegetable were thwarted by Congress.

Secretary of Agriculture, Tom Vilsack, has been asked to re-examine the rules because of reports of wasted food, increased costs for schools, and some kids going hungry. Yet with one in three American children obese, federal intervention makes sense.

Read more in Education Week.