school lunch

Students at Doherty Middle School in Andover, Mass., choose items from the salad bar in the school cafeteria, June 2012. Among other things, a Senate compromise on school nutrition standards calls for the USDA and the CDC to establish new guidance that wo

Food Fight Fizzles As Senate Nears Compromise on School Nutrition Rules

4:18pm January 20, 2016

by Allison Aubrey

The deal OK'd by a key Senate panel preserves stricter school nutrition standards enacted since 2010, but it gives schools more leeway in implementing them. It also calls for encouraging salad bars.

Chefs Kerry Heffernan and Tom Colicchio pose for a photo at Bearnaise, a Capitol Hill restaurant, on Tuesday before setting out for a day of lobbying lawmakers.

Mr. Chef Goes To Washington: Cooks Learn To Lobby Congress On Food

6:33am October 30, 2015

by Maria Godoy

As food policy gets more attention in Washington, lobbying groups are training chefs to stir up Congress. The hope is that they'll sway lawmakers on issues like school lunch and GMO labels.

Longer lines in the cafeteria and shorter lunch periods mean many public school students get just 15 minutes to eat. Yet researchers say when kids get less than 20 minutes for lunch, they eat less of everything on their tray.

Kids Who Are Time-Crunched At School Lunch Toss More And Eat Less

3:58pm September 24, 2015

by Maria Godoy

Many public school students get 15 minutes or less to eat. A study finds that kids who get less than 20 minutes for lunch end up eating less of everything on their tray.

A school lunch tray featuring whole wheat tortillas at the School Nutrition Association conference in July 2014. The association is asking Congress to relax the federal school nutrition standards in hopes of attracting more kids back to the school lunch l

Class Divide: Are More Affluent Kids Opting Out Of School Lunch?

10:33am September 20, 2015

by Allison Aubrey

Healthier school lunches are reaching more needy kids, but more kids who could afford to pay full price seem to be brown-bagging it instead. That's why some schools want to loosen nutrition rules.

In some Indian states, efforts to serve eggs to malnourished children are a political minefield. See the related animation, "Power Lunch: India's Mid-Day Meal Program," produced by Mathilde Dratwa for the Pulitzer Center and based on Rhitu Chatterjee's re

Egg War: Why India's Vegetarian Elite Are Accused Of Keeping Kids Hungry

5:20pm July 14, 2015

by Rhitu Chatterjee

Serving eggs in free school meals could boost the protein-deficient diets of poor, lower caste Indian school kids. But in some Indian states, powerful vegetarian politicians have thwarted these plans.

Texas' agricultural commissioner wants to do away with a decade-old ban on deep fryers and soda machines in schools.

Freedom With Fries? Texas Official Wants Deep Fryers Back In Schools

1:23pm June 11, 2015

by Kate McGee

The agricultural commissioner wants to roll back a decade-old ban on soda machines and deep fryers in schools. He says it's not about giving kids a treat but about giving school districts the choice.

Queue Listen Now

Lee's Easter-themed creation, made with an omelet, zucchini, cheese, seaweed, ketchup and red capsicum.

Arts

These Parents Make Lovely Lunch Bag Art. Not Everyone Is Pleased

5:03pm April 29, 2015

by Tove Danovich

Elaborately illustrated napkins. Famous paintings re-created using food. Depending on your viewpoint, these lunch projects are an expression of parental love or another salvo in the parenting wars.

Frito-Lay reformulated Flamin' Hot Cheetos, a perennial favorite among school kids, to meet new federal "Smart Snack" rules for schools.

Guess What Makes The Cut As A 'Smart Snack' In Schools? Hot Cheetos

4:07pm April 08, 2015

by Monica Eng

Frito-Lay has reformulated Flamin' Hot Cheetos to meet new federal nutrition standards for school snacks. That's been a big hit with school kids, but the rules' creators say the snack is still junk.

Queue Listen Now

A lunch served by the Yarmouth, Maine, School Department on Sept. 26, 2014, featured Sloppy Joe's made with Maine beef and local beets, carrots, apples and potato salad. More than 80 percent of Maine schools said they served local foods in a survey conduc

Why Some Schools Serve Local Food And Others Can't (Or Won't)

4:23pm March 12, 2015

by Tracie McMillan

A survey found that 36 percent of U.S. public schools bought food from local farmers during two recent school years. But a slightly greater number of schools served no local food at all.

A baked potato with toppings on a lunch tray at a school in Wisconsin. Students are less likely to eat fruits and vegetables if they're rushing to get to recess, researchers say.

Would Kids Eat More Veggies If They Had Recess Before Lunch?

6:18pm January 20, 2015

by Poncie Rutsch

Many healthy school lunch options end up in the garbage. But two researchers say that students who eat lunch after recess are more likely to eat fruits and veggies than students who eat lunch first.