Lunchtime is changing dramatically at CHS. The cafeterias are tightening meal requirements and for many, school meals are becoming more expensive.

Last year, the cafeteria’s fruit and vegetable requirements “resulted in a lot of fruit and vegetables tossed into trash cans,” said sophomore Anna Lippert.

This year, CHS has gone even further in making school lunches healthier.

With making soup and french fries a la carte items, the school angered many students. However, the reasons behind these changes are not due to school policy but rather federal law.

The Healthy Hunger-Free Kids Act requires schools to include at least three out of five main components in cafeteria lunches. Students may choose from milk, grains, meat/meat alternative, fruit, and vegetables. A fruit or vegetable is a required component.

Offering french fries as part of a meal means the lunch would be “over in our vegetable [component] and over in calories,” said Food Services director Kelly Renard.

Many soups also pose a problem because they provide partial components but not entire ones, making it simpler for them to become a la carte items.

“The school lunch prices for students only increased by $.10 so there hasn’t been a dramatic increase,” Renard added. “Some of the a la carte prices actually decreased.”

However, students are used to including items that are now a la carte as regular meal items—and this has led to some complaints about rising meal costs.

“They’re trying to make the lunches healthier, but they’re just making people mad; they should keep things the way they were before,” said senior Makenzie Langer.

According to Renard, next school year will bring even more changes to food regulations. They will affect fundraising, a la carte sales, vending sales, and parties during the school day.  “As far as a la carte we are selling what we can this year because next year we may not be allowed to sell the same items,” she said.

Renard said she had no specific details available to her about next year’s mandated changes.

UPDATE: The cafeteria fruit and vegetable consumption increased by nearly double last year. Although the minimum fruit or vegetable requirement is ½ cup, “in many cases kids were taking full 1c portions of each,” said Renard.