LOS ALAMOS, N.M. – Los Alamos Public Schools is dropping the National School Lunch Program at five elementary schools to serve students larger portions and to make cafeterias more efficient.

The school board voted in mid-February to remove the district’s five elementary schools from the program for next school year, a move brought on by complaints about small portion sizes and slow service, The Los Alamos Monitor reports.

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“We have listened to the community and listened to what they’ve said they wanted,” LAPS CFO Lisa Montoya told the school board Feb. 14.

Board members said the district will forego roughly $60,000 to $80,000 in federal subsidies for low-income student meals to make the transition, but expect to make up the loss with higher food sales.

Montoya said district officials plan to continue free- and reduced-price lunches for needy students, with the district covering the cost.

“The community will not see a difference in the food service structure and we will still be taking care of the children that require assistance,” Montoya said. “It’s imperative to the district and the board that we take care of all kids.”

The school district will continue to use applications through the Supplemental Nutritional Assistance Program to determine qualification for free- or reduced-price lunches, as is currently done through the NSLP, according to the Ruidoso News.

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LAPS’ decision to drop the NSLP follows hundreds of schools across the country that have done the same since strict federal regulations on calories, fat, sugar, salt, whole grains, and other nutritional elements were imposed on schools in the program at the behest of former first lady Michelle Obama.

The regulations have convinced a total of more than 1.4 million students to quit eating school food. Other federal requirements, including a mandate that every child take a fruit or vegetable whether they plan to eat it or not, has also created $1 billion in additional food waste annually.

“Looking at what this district does, what we need the food service for, we feel like it’s a viable option to migrate off of it, still keeping in mind that we still have a population that needs helping being fed,” Montoya said. “I don’t anticipate a great increase in cost, if any to us.”

Chartwell’s is currently the district’s food service provider, but board members may request a proposal in April for a new food provider with options beyond offerings approved by the NSLP, the Monitor reports.

The LAPS board formally approved the decision to leave the NSLP Feb. 14, with a plan to reach out to parents about the changes for the 2017-18 school year over the coming months.

“I would really like to see a communication of this process out to the elementary schools who have this in place to talk about how it’s going to be replaced and why,” board secretary Andrea Cunningham said.