Retooling School Lunch

摘要

It's lunch hour on a luminous spring day at Berkeley High School's open campus-the perfect time to stroll to Extreme Pizza on nearby Shattuck Avenue, grab a Coke, order some pizza heaped with sausage and sit in the California sun. But in Berkeley High's lunchroom, lines of students are waiting patiently for-get this-cafeteria food. The longest line-now get this-is for salad. "This is only my second time eating school lunch," says junior Fennis Brown, 17. "I've always been put off by cafeteria food. But when I saw a friend eating it, I thought, That looks like it could come from any good restaurant. And it's cheaper and easier than eating off campus." Such words herald a small battle won in the big food fight erupting over U.S. lunchrooms. With childhood-obesity rates zooming-more than a three- fold increase in 30 years-schools are under pressure from parents, health officials and legislators to serve something more wholesome than greasy burgers and Tater Tots.