A federal law championed by First Lady Michelle Obama is up for reauthorization later this year.
At Plano Elementary School in Warren County Thursday, Kentucky’s 2nd District Congressman Brett Guthrie solicited feedback on the Healthy and Hunger-free Kids Act which became law in 2010.
Following a roundtable discussion, Guthrie said he learned that schools want more flexibility in preparing meals.
"Everyone wants kids to eat healthy, but when you write a single rule that comes out of Washington, DC, that goes into every cafeteria of every school, they don't always work," Guthrie told WKU Public Radio.
While the federal act has brought more nutritious meals into school cafeterias, much of the food is wasted.
"If a kid doesn't pick up an apple, the school won't get reimbursed from the federal government if the kid is on free or reduced lunch," Guthrie explained. "A lot of times they have to make the kids pick up an apple and walk out with it knowing that it's going in the garbage."
Cafeteria managers says the healthy food has resulted in more children bringing their lunch from home. Most of the children not eating cafeteria food are from middle and upper class families that pay full price for their lunch. It hurts schools monetarily when those children who pay full price bring their lunch from home.
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