Title: Why Some Schools Are Saying ‘No Thanks’ to the School-Lunch Program | TIME.com
Headings: Why Some Schools Are Saying ‘No Thanks’ to the School-Lunch Program
Nutrition
Why Some Schools Are Saying ‘No Thanks’ to the School-Lunch Program

Content: And the truth is most students don’t want to eat healthier, so there has been and will be a transition period because what is being served at school in many cases doesn’t look like what they eat at home,” says Michael Smith, the superintendent at Tuscola Community Unit School District No. 301 in Tuscola, Ill. “I’m a proponent of the new standards health-wise, but it is another example of how all of these issues are dumped on schools. I wish they would also be addressed in other places where students eat, like fast-food [restaurants] and gas stations.” Still, the goal of the new standards is to encourage healthy eating early on, before unhealthy habits set in. If children in elementary schools are seeing more grains and fresh produce in their cafeterias, then they may be more likely to try them and continue eating them as adolescents and adults. School, after all, is a place for learning, and that includes the cafeteria. *This piece was updated with the latest numbers on school lunch participation.