BURLEY, Idaho – Burley High School has seen a 25 percent decrease in participation since changes to the National School Lunch Program went into effect. Those students now “bring sack lunches, dash off campus for fast food or skip the meal altogether,” according to the Times-News. “It was not edible. It was a greasy little hot pocket,” parent Steve Wells says. “When we were little, everything at school was homemade.” The school lunch “doesn’t taste as good,” student Ana Inzunza tells the paper. “It’s missing flavor and tastes plain.” “There are a lot of challenges,” Cassia County schools food service director, Angela Rodriquez, says of the new rules championed by First Lady Michelle Obama. “The students have noticed there is not as much flavor in the food.” Meanwhile, students in Austintown, Ohio aren’t faring much better. “Kids can’t take two ketchup packets [for burgers] because that would set them over on calories” for that condiment, Natalie Winkle, district food-service secretary and assistant tells The Vindicator. The district’s food service director says costs are up and revenues are down. “The National School Lunch Program has enjoyed years of steady growth, but what we’re now seeing is a lot of waste, mostly with fruits and vegetables,” School Nutrition Association spokeswoman Diane Pratt-Heavner tells the news site. Many students are finding the food inedible...more