Testing Out Greek Yogurt
After hearing from several lawmakers in D.C. the USDA has committed to initiating a pilot program to try out Greek yogurt as a an alternative source of protein in some schools, possibly as early as April this year. If well received, Greek yogurt may find its way onto school menus across the country. While Greek yogurt is high in protein, it is also on the costly side, which may deter its entry into school breakfast and lunch programs. Many school cafeteria managers say they already serve regular yogurt, and that it’s a popular menu item with students. As far as serving Greek yogurt? Well, while they think it would make an excellent choice to have on their menus, the fact remains that Greek yogurt is much more expensive than regular yogurt. They also say that if they can manage to fit it into their budgets than they would buy it, but that’s a big “if”. Currently approved meat substitutes for school lunches include nuts, tofu, beans, cheese and eggs. Incidentally, those legislators who requested that the USDA include Greek yogurt on school menus just happen to represent states where a large portion of the country’s greek type yogurt is produced.