Once the province of tater tots, reheated burgers and chocolate milk, school lunches are increasingly featuring local produce and healthy foods as administrators battle rising food prices and expanding student waistlines.

"This is really gaining momentum now," said Gary Cuneen of Seven Generations Ahead, a Chicago-area non-profit that has worked with schools in Oak Park and elsewhere to improve lunch menus and to educate students about food.

A movement that began a decade ago by putting fresh produce into a few California schools is now active in 2,000 school districts in 39 states, according to the National Farm to School project.

"A lot of programs have gotten started off by parents going into the school and saying, 'We need some sort of change happening,' " said Anupama Joshi of Farm to School, a project funded by cereal giant Kellogg Co.

The movement got a boost in May when Congress approved a long-delayed farm bill allocating more than $1 billion over the next five years for a fresh fruit and vegetable program.

A glimpse inside William Hatch School in Oak Park, which revamped its lunch menu a couple of years ago, demonstrates the change. Students can't wait to show their physical education teacher what they have been eating, thrusting half-eaten apples and bags of grapes into the air for her approval.

School officials say they have planted an organic garden with exotic fruits and vegetables, provided students samples of healthy food items from around the world and asked parents to forgo cupcakes and other sweets for in-school celebrations.

Second-graders now brag about their taste for quinoa-a South American staple grown mainly for its seed-while older children crunch on apple wedges and honeydew slices brought from home.

"The food tastes a lot better, and it's a lot better for you," said Katie Starcher, a 10-year-old 5th grader. "I like the chicken patty. It's grilled and it's served on a whole wheat bun with lettuce."

Josh Zucker, also 10, didn't like the pizza and sloppy joes that made up the old menu. "They just didn't taste right," he said.

Full Story: http://www.chicagotribune.com/news/nationworld/chi-school-lunches-revisenov10,0,7576229.story

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