School District May Monitor Trash To Measure Consumption of Healthy Lunches

Kids hate the new meals and are tossing vast quantities of food

In an effort to monitor the effects of the new federal lunch policy changes, Lake County school leaders in Florida have proposed using surveys or installing trash cams — cameras mounted on cafeteria garbage bins — to determine what portion of students' lunches are destined for the dumpster.

According to the Orlando Sentinel, Lake County schools were the only ones in Central Florida last year to phase in the new rules a year before they were required. Officials estimated that students tossed $75,000 worth of produce in the garbage, prompting school board members to call for stricter trash monitoring to determine what specifically about the new policy is working, and what isn't.