Picking Up Lunch Money

With fast food under fire for fueling obesity, why would a giant U.S. school district pick a quick-serve chain as a hot-lunch supplier? Two reasons, says Kern Halls, a senior food manager for Florida’s Orange County Public Schools, which invited Asian Chao to serve its 174,000 pupils. First, the chain, owned by Food Systems Unlimited in suburban Orlando, meets USDA nutrition criteria. Second, students voted Asian Chao’s $2.50 meal of tangerine chicken, fried rice, and stir-fried veggies No. 1 in their taste test. Chains like Taco Bell and Subway were in lunchrooms in the 1990s but largely disappeared as USDA nutrition standards tightened and costs rose faster than federal subsidies. With 73 outlets in 14 states, Food Systems wants to bring fast food back to school, with bids out in North Carolina, Pennsylvania, and Minnesota.