SMYRNA, Del.- It's National School Lunch Week and for many children in Delaware, school lunch isn't what it used to be.
On a regular day at Sunnyside Elementary School, hundreds of hungry kids make it through the lunch line. But what they're reaching for isn't what most people remember from school lunches.
"A lot of people say kids don't like broccoli, but they really do. It's one of my better sellers," said Kristen Kahl, a child nutrition manager at the school.
Kahl runs lunch at Sunnyside and is helping the school implement new federal guidelines to combat the nation's obesity epidemic and get kids healthier.
While the kids may like the broccoli, eating more vegetables is jarring for some.
"They're a little bit shocked because we are pushing the vegetable and their fruits, more than they are used to," Kahl said. "Like we make sure they have at least one on their plate."
All of the extra produce has to come from somewhere and that's where Delaware's farmers step in. Delaware Agriculture Secretary Ed Kee said that each year the state is buying more and more produce from local farmers to feed Delaware's children.
"We're gonna crack $100,000 which doesn't sound like a lot but it is meaningful to those vendors and it's growing, that's the important thing," Kee said. "It does have some economic impact for those farmers."
