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Healthy school lunch changes may face parent, student backlash

With students nationwide set to be introduced to a revamped school lunch menu this fall, Long Island school nutrition directors are scrambling to meet the new federal requirements [1] and anticipating backlash from kids and parents alike, the Huffington Post reports. The changes are part of a healthy school lunch initiative put forth in January by first lady Michelle Obama and Agriculture Secretary Tom Vilsack [2]. New guidelines establish calorie and sodium limits for meals, require schools to offer a wider selection of fruits and vegetables [3] and mandate all milk be 1 percent or nonfat. Requirements for the use of whole grains are also being phased in. Additionally, in order for a school lunch to qualify as a “reimbursable meal” or be eligible for a free or reduced price, students must have a fruit or vegetable on their tray [4], according to the Observer-Dispatch. Previously, students needed only to take three of the five items offered. The new federal demands represent the first major nutritional overhaul of school meals in over 15 years…

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