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Government Calls For Stricter Guidelines For School Lunches

NEW YORK (CBS 2) -- Hold the French fries -- for the first time in 15 years the government is proposing new, healthier guidelines for school lunches.

P.S. 216 in Brooklyn already serves up a healthy diet to its hungry kids.

"I eat a lot of carrots. That is where I get my red hair from," one student told CBS 2's Manuel Gallegus.

"I think it is really good and it is healthy," added fifth grader Finella Tutelman.

Now, the government wants all schools receiving subsidized meals to follow stricter guidelines to fight obesity and improve a child's health.

The proposals would require school cafeterias to cut overall calories and:

* Cut sodium in meals in half.

* Eliminate most trans fats.

* Require more whole grains, fruits and vegetables.

* Serve only non-fat or low-fat milk.

The new guidelines would affect more than 32 million students. The government said they're crucial since children get about half their daily calories at school.

The principal of P.S. 216 said she thinks the changes can't come soon enough.

"Just as parents trust us with education, they should trust that we want not only healthy minds, but healthy bodies. We are not overreaching; we are educating," Celia Kaplinsky said.

So get ready, kids. No more fries.

Principal Kaplinsky said in her experience, children get used to whatever you give them and healthier food will become a way of life.

It could be a few years before the proposed guidelines take effect.

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