Fruits and vegetables are put to better use in low-income schools, according to research conducted at the Harvard School of Public Health. The study, published in the American Journal of Preventative Medicine, comes after the USDA revised its guidelines for school lunches in 2012.
The new guidelines required more fruits and veggies leading some to fear that kids would waste the new meal additions.
"Many low-income students rely on school meals for up to half of their daily energy intake. Therefore, school meals can have important implications for student health," said the study's lead investigator, Juliana Cohen of the department of nutrition at Harvard School of Public Health.
"Overall, the new requirements have led to improvements in student diets and have not resulted in increased food waste," she added.
The study found that students throw out 60-75% of the vegetables and 40% of the fruit they are served. The numbers held before and after the guidelines were implemented.
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