Can this Lunch be Saved?

And, unlike that soda, your lunch has to meet federal nutritional standards that dictate everything from how much salt is on your french fries to how many whole grains are in your roll. There are minimum and maximum calorie counts, too. Schools also need to offer options for kids on special diets, like teens who have diabetes or food allergies or are on gluten-free diets. All for less than two bucks.

Ironically, this noble attempt to improve school lunches actually made them worse. Commercial food companies that provide school meals had little experience making healthy foods, so the results were often bland and uninspiring at best and nauseating at worst. Students tagged photos of lunchtime atrocities #thanksmichelleobama, then tossed the food in the trash. According to the National Institutes of Health, $1.2 billion of edible food is thrown away in lunchrooms each year.

In 2018, the government loosened a few of the nutrition requirements. White pasta, flour tortillas, and white rice were once again allowed on the serving line. But many school lunches remain far from perfect.

1. The Vegan Crusader

She persuaded the country’s second-largest school district to offer a plant-based option for lunches every day.

One day Lila Copeland, now 17, checked out the lunch line at her Los Angeles middle school. The only choice for a vegan student like her? A few pieces of sad-looking iceberg lettuce topped with cucumbers.

In response, Lila launched her Healthy Freedom campaign to push the school district to offer more vegan lunch options. She recruited animal rights activists, doctors, and athletes to speak to the school board. She even served the board vegan black bean burgers and pasta. (“They all said they loved it,” Lila says.)

In 2017, the school board voted to offer a daily vegan lunch entree in every Los Angeles school. In the first year of the program, about 13 percent of students chose the vegan option. And when the cafeteria serves up the vegan chili, fully half the kids chow down on it.

Lila’s next goal: a law requiring California public schools to offer a daily plant-based entrée. “Prisons and hospitals have to offer vegan meals,” she says. “Why shouldn’t our schools?”

Lila’s Tip: Be willing to put in the time. Lila spent many hours making phone calls, meeting with school officials, recruiting supporters, and going to meetings. “We got a ‘No’ many times before we got a ‘yes,’” she says.

2. The Flavor Savior

She convinced her school to implement simple solutions to make lunch taste a lot better.

Dismayed by the lack of options in her Fairfax, Virginia, school and the blandness of the food, Kyra West, 18, knew there had to be a better way to lunch. She asked to meet with her school’s lunch director to suggest some small improvements.

The school implemented one of Kyra’s ideas right away—a spice bar with seasonings like nacho cheese, chili lime, and ranch so students could add some flavor to their meals.

Kyra’s other idea was a bar where students pick a base of a grain, lettuce, or a wrap, and then choose toppings. She got the idea after hearing about a similar concept at another high school.

The school ran a pilot of the program for two days, and it was a hit. Now school officials are considering making it permanent.

Kyra’s Tip: Don’t assume your school is the enemy. “What I learned is that schools really do want to make meals that kids love, but there are a lot of challenges,” Kyra says. “So if you have an idea to make your lunch better, my advice would be: Just ask.”

3. The Food Rescuer

He helped rescue 2,400 food items that were headed for the trash, getting them instead to people in need.

Cameron Driggers, 14, was shocked to see a student at his Florida middle school load up his lunch tray and head straight for the trash. The student dropped in an unopened carton of milk and an untouched Styrofoam bowl of fruit before going to sit down to eat. “And he wasn’t the only one throwing away food,” Cameron says.

To reduce food waste, Cameron proposed setting up a share table, where students could put unopened or uneaten food and beverages. At the end of the day, any leftovers could be delivered to a local food pantry. Students would supervise the table so it wouldn’t become a responsibility for cafeteria staff.

School administrators approved the plan. The share table was set up last November, and by the end of the school year, more than 2,400 items had been rescued from the local landfill. Now, Cameron and his classmates are working to expand the concept to other schools.

Cameron’s Tip: Learn from others who’ve done it before. Cameron connected with John Williamson, founder of K-12 Food Rescue (www.foodrescue.net), who shared advice on how to navigate state regulations and most efficiently share and distribute the food.