WASHINGTON, D.C. – Members of the School Nutrition Association trekked to Capitol Hill again Thursday to urge federal lawmakers to ease school food restrictions imposed by Michelle Obama’s Healthy, Hunger Free Kids Act.

The law, the first lady’s pet project, forced limits on calories, sugar, sodium, and other nutritional elements, as well as a requirement to serve every student a fruit or vegetable, whether they want it or not.

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The federal regulations also mandate all schools serve 100 percent whole grain bread and pasta.

But SNA members like Debbie Beauvais, school nutrition services supervisor in Rochester, New York, told lawmakers the strict school food restrictions have led to unintended consequences, such as students seeking unhealthy alternatives and skyrocketing food waste, The Hill reports.

“We have a new problem where we have to police the front doors,” Beauvais said. “Security is turning into a concierge because fast food trucks are pulling up. Kids are texting the local pizzeria and pizzas are showing up at lunch.”

Beauvais said the fruit and vegetable mandate alone led to $25,834 in food waste in the three districts she oversees.

According to FoodProcessing.com:

The results of the first phase of the Healthy, Hunger-Free Kids Act has been a 1.5 percent drop in students who pay for their own lunch (but a 0.4 percent growth in free lunches) – that’s 1.4 million fewer children who are choosing lunch each day. School districts are being forced to absorb $1.2 billion in additional food and labor costs in 2015 alone. Cafeteria waste has increased 100 percent, to $684 million – most of that waste being the fruit or vegetable mandated with every meal. All those figures are according to SNA.

Yet, instead of pursuing a full repeal of the Healthy and Hunger Free Kids Act, the SNA and it’s 55,000 lunch ladies simply want to ease some of the rules on sodium and whole grains to “allow schools to prepare healthy meals students will eat.”

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“SNA supports strong federal nutrition standards for school meals, including calorie limits and mandates to offer a greater quantity and variety of fruits and vegetables,” according to an SNA statement cited by the website. “However, some of USDA’s regulations go too far, driving up costs and waste and causing many students to swap healthy school meals for less nutritious options.”

That’s why the SNA supports the Healthy School Meals Flexibility Act, sponsored by North Dakota Sen. John Hoeven and Maine Sen. Angus King, the association told lawmakers.

Hoeven said that legislation “ensures our schools are providing kids with good, nutritious meals but provides the flexibility they need to serve meals that are not only well-balanced but also appealing to students,” FoodProcessing.com reports.

More specifically, the bill would eliminate the mandatory fruit or vegetable requirement, roll back the whole grain requirement to 50 percent, and halt further sodium reductions set to take effect in coming years, according to The Hill.

Hoeven’s bill is also supported by The Salt Institute, which argues that sodium restrictions are partially to blame for an increasing number of students bringing their lunches from home.

“Salads and vegetables are critical to a good diet but research from Ohio State University has shown that reducing salt makes vegetables less palatable and as a result kids reject them,” Salt Institute president Lori Roman said. “The entire effort to reduce salt below what kids find acceptable is self-defeating. Kids simply refuse to eat the school lunches provided and instead end up eating far less-healthy snacks outside of school to make up for the lack of sodium in their diets.”

The Healthy School Meals Flexibility Act won’t, however, become a reality without a fight.

Kelly Horton, assistant for Rep. Rosa DeLauro of Connecticut, told lawmakers a majority of schools are complying with the current standards and urged them to “not throw the baby out with the bathwater” by dialing back the federal restrictions, according to The Hill.

Horton suggested that schools should lock down their campus as a means of forcing students to eat what the government is serving.

“This is a whole environment change that needs to happen,” she said. “So many people have diabetes and obesity and end up in the hospital later in their lives and they’re not living as long as they should. I just want to bring in that whole global perspective.”

First lady Michelle Obama has also previously stated she plans to fight for her pet project “until the bitter end.”