DETROIT — Healthier lunches full of leafy greens and whole grains will again be on menus in districts across Michigan when school opens Tuesday.
But school officials say it’s a tough balancing act.
Two years after new federal guidelines went into effect, districts are struggling to meet the nutritional standards because of higher food costs and shrinking revenue.
A recent survey taken during the School Nutrition Association’s annual national conference showed nearly a quarter of responding meal programs operated at a net loss for more than six months, as students turned up their noses at the more nutritious offerings.
The association says that according to statistics from the U.S. Department of Agriculture, student lunch participation is down in 49 states under the new standards, with more than 1 million fewer students choosing school lunch each day.
In response, some members of Congress pushed this summer for the rules, set by lawmakers and the Obama administration, to be relaxed.
In Oakland County, student participation has dropped by more than 4,700 meals per day — more than 5 percent — since guidelines went into effect in 2012.