ROANOKE, Va—
Some big changes are coming to your child's school lunch.
For the first time in 15 years, the government has made changes to school lunch nutritional guidelines.
It means federal subsidized meals will now include more whole grains, fruits and vegetables, and less sodium.
Milk will have to be fat-free or low-fat.
Pizza crust, pasta, and breads will have to be whole grain.
Students will be required to take a fruit or vegetable. Now they can choose.
Many school systems like Roanoke City and Roanoke County have known for awhile about the impending changes and have already implemented some of them.
For example at Northside High School in Roanoke County, the pizza is made with whole grain crust and low fat cheese.
At Fishburn Park Elementary in Roanoke City, hot dogs are made with turkey or chicken. The buns are whole grain.
The changes are designed to combat childhood obesity.
According to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, about 17% of U.S. children and teenagers are obese.
Khadijah Fountain is a Northside High School Senior. She thinks the new rules will help. "If you are going to give the kid better choices than they are going to accept better choices and that will help in the long run so I think it will help a lot," said Fountain.
But will students embrace a healthier lunch?
"I will probably eat it but some of them I won't eat it like cauliflower, I don't like that," said Northside High School Junior D.J. Russell.
"I'm going to eat it because I'm going to be hungry otherwise," said Northside High School Junior Brandon Jackson.
School systems have concerns about the cost of implementing these changes.
It will take five years and is expected to cost more than $3 billion.
Ed Tutle is Supervisor for School Nutrition Services in Roanoke County. He told News 7, "We're kinda a pennies business so trying to keep profits up, to be able to afford all the new changes are going to be expensive for us."
