School Kids Protesting First Lady Obama's Lunch Menu Changes

By CnAgri2012-09-25 19:27:53 Print

Children and parents across the country are fed up with the restrictive new school meal regulations implemented by the Department of Agriculture under the 'Healthy, Hunger-Free Kids Act of 2010,' which has long been touted by first lady Michelle Obama.

The standards--which cap meal calories at 650 for students in kindergarten through fifth grade, at 700 calories for middle school students and 850 for high school students--also dictate the number of breads, proteins, vegetables and fruits children are allowed per meal.

And some student-athletes in Wisconsin are arguing that the calorie caps hit them especially hard, given their intense workouts and scrimmages.

The new lunch standards have led to the removal of some old food favorites, including a particularly popular item at one school in upstate New York: chicken nuggets. Students in the Plum Borough School District in Pennsylvania are protesting the new federal restrictions on Twitter.

"everyone... if you agree school lunches are expensive and small, RT this. we can fight the school! tweet #BrownBagginIt,?@TornadoBoyTubbs tweeted, according to the Pittsburgh Post-Gazette.

Administrators have scrambled to find creative ways to make the new menus appealing. A school district in Lake County, Fla., for example, is planning to conduct a survey to determine how to make vegetables more appealing to children, who often throw them out.

Despite the outrage, some parents believe the ongoing obesity epidemic justifies the tight calorie standards.

When the legislation was signed into law in 2010, it received bipartisan support, including a big endorsement from Michelle Obama.