New York’s Niskayuna Central School District is severing ties with the National School Lunch program, tossing out its adherence to federal regulations for more fruits and vegetables on lunch trays, the Huffington Post reports. The Niskayuna Board of Education unanimously voted to terminate participation in the program, effective April 1, after a semester-long stint has resulted in a net operating loss of nearly $70,500, Spotlightnews.com reports. The new rules, Food Service Director Suzanne Wixom tells WNYT, has resulted in more waste [1] as students throw out more food they are forced to take but do not want to eat. The less appealing meals, district officials say, have also cut into revenue as the number of school lunch buyers have dropped by half.
“You are going to be heroes among a lot of kids,” Board member John Buhrmaster said [2], according to Spotlightnews.com. “The program you had before was better than the one dictated by the federal government and the kids understood that, and they will be very appreciative.”