Ill. school district drops health foods

ARLINGTON HEIGHTS, Ill., Feb. 13 (UPI) -- A suburban Chicago school district said it is dropping nutritious foods, including baked fish and black bean burgers, from school lunch menus.

Coletta Hines-Newell, food service manager for Arlington Heights School District 25, which serves elementary and middle schools, said "nutrient rich" foods, including grilled salmon, baked fish and black-bean burgers will no longer be offered because they proved unpopular since being introduced a year and a half ago, the Chicago Tribune reported Wednesday.

"It makes me sad," Hines-Newell said. "You want to run the best nutritional program, but you also want to run a business that is self-sustaining."

Hines-Newell said she is hoping to reintroduce the healthy menu items as a once-a-week option next school year.

"I believe the changes we did are the right changes for the health of our students," Hines-Newell said. "We need to be feeding our children the right things."

While kid favorites such as hot dogs, pizza and chicken nuggets are back on the menu, students looking for something a bit more healthy will still have items like turkey sandwiches or hummus on flat bread to pick from, she said.