NPR.

This is the indicator from Planet Money.

I'm Waylon Wong and I'm joined today by producer Julia Ritchie.

Hello. I came to talk about something most of us have had, but not always enjoyed.

School lunches. You know what I did enjoy in middle school getting the nachos, basically just

corn tortilla chips with like reheated cheese whiz? That is basically my midweek meal still. So yes.

Delicious. It's a classic. We recently covered the federal government's new

inverted food pyramid on the show. Among other changes, it places meat and dairy alongside fruits and

veggies. Public schools are supposed to follow these dietary guidelines in the meals they serve

students. And school lunches are part of the Trump administration's broader Make America

Healthy Again agenda.

U.S. Agriculture Secretary Brooke Rawlins told Fox News that officials want to raise standards for school lunches.

A lot of our schools don't even have an oven anymore.

You know, back when I was growing up, the lunch ladies were back there cooking the meals on the stoves and then serving it.

So how do we completely and fundamentally change the system to go back to where we're serving

that healthy whole food and nutrients to these kiddos?

On today's show, do schools need another menu overhaul?

We go back to the cafeteria to see what kids are actually eating and whether school districts on tight budgets can afford the latest changes.

The debate over how to make school lunches healthier isn't new. You might remember former First Lady Michelle Obama's push to get kids to eat more veggies more than 15 years ago.

Yes, I remember she enlisted elbow to help.

So how do you guys feel about getting kids pumped up and excited about eating healthy foods?

Oh, well, it's wonderful.

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