For a few years now New Haven has protected the right to healthy, free school lunches for all students. During the school day, after all that learning, naturally kids are hungry. When you go to the cafeteria you should get a full nutritious meal. A vegetable is a crucial part of that, and even though kids say they don’t like them, they need them more than any other age group.  However, at the start of the school year, the cafeteria often ran out of vegetables.

According to Barron Young, Food Services Director, the mandatory parts of a school lunch in the New Haven school district are: a grain, a vegetable and a fruit. We shared with him that for first graders, fourth graders, and sixth graders (the last lunch wave), the cafeteria was running out of  vegetables regularly. “I was not aware of that information, I am glad that you are bringing it up” Mr. Young said. ”I will speak to the team. We need to be offering fruit and vegetables with meal services.” Shortly after we interviewed him, the vegetables rarely ran out again.