Students throwing away lunches following new meal regulations

ZAVALLA, Texas — Zavalla students are throwing away more food than they're eating and leaving the cafeteria hungry. School officials said Mon Monday that this is happening because the federal government is micro managing what they can and can't put on the kids plates.

Plates full of food are finding their way to the trash can instead of into kids' stomachs, and Zavalla ISD officials who are in charge of making sure their students eat according to the newest guidelines said it's not working.

"It breaks your heart to know that there are kids out there that are hungry, and we don't care about that anymore," said Zavalla ISD Food Service Director Ethelene Giles. "What we care about is the fact that we've got to meet mandates."

Giles said this the fifth year she's had to make changes to the menu.

"This year sodium was a big undertaking, and it just basically cut the flavor out of the vegetables," Giles said.

However, the junior high kids' biggest complaint is that they can't have iced tea.

"They can't have the caffeine, but they can't have decaf tea because they say there's sugar added to it," Giles said.

"We want tea," chanted a group of junior high students.

Giles makes sure everyone has the requirement on their plate, but what they do with it is up to them.