At least one North Texas school district has turned up its nose at the new federal lunch program.  Many schools report kids refused to eat the healthier meals that are supposed to be packed with whole grains, fruits and vegetables.

Carroll Independent School District has dropped out for a year.  Nutrition Services Director Mary Brunig says the requirements are too restrictive.  “You have to follow exactly what is in this meal pattern, if you are the national school lunch program.”

Brunig says as a result, a lot of food wound up in the trash.

“With the new program in place, the new meal pattern, our participation started to drop.  And the other thing was there was food waste.  Children were not eating the food,” she said.  “If the children aren’t eating the food, there’s no nutrition.”

Brunig says the district plans to create its own healthy meals without federal restrictions.

Carroll ISD Opting Out Of Federal Lunch Program « CBS Dallas / Fort Worth

Beginning a day of protests that organizers say will spread to 50 cities and 1,000 stores across the country, a crowd of chanting workers gathered Thursday morning at a McDonalds in midtown Manhattan to call for higher wages and the chance to join a union.

About 500 people, including workers, activists, religious leaders, news crews and local politicians, gathered outside the McDonalds on Fifth Avenue. The protesters chanted “Si Se Puede” “Yes, We Can” and “Hey, hey, ho, ho $7.25 has got to go,” holding signs saying “On Strike: Cant Survive on $7.25,” referring to the federal minimum wage.

The protesters plan to spread out to other stores throughout New York during the day. Protests are also expected in Los Angeles, Chicago, Charlotte, N.C., and other cities.

Meanwhile, the Employment Policies Institute, a Washington-based think tank, has placed a full-page ad in the Wall Street Journal with a picture of a robot making what looks like pancakes. It explains that restaurants have to reduce their costs of service to keep prices low, which might mean switching to robots if wages get too high.

“Why Robots Could Soon Replace Fast Food Workers Demanding a Higher Minimum Wage,” the ad reads.

The fast-food protests began in New York on Nov. 29. There have been three protests in New York since then, and they have spread to Chicago and other cities. Thursdays protest is to mark the first for fast-food workers in Los Angeles and other cities.

National fast-food wage protests kick off in New York – latimes.com