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 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. New guidelines establish calorie and sodium limits for meals, require schools to offer a wider selection of fruits and vegetables 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, 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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