When students in Robeson County, N.C., returned to school this fall, a new choice appeared on the lunch line: Lunchables. Kraft Heinz reformulated the grocery-store favorite so it would meet school nutrition requirements — and now, school districts across the country are deciding whether to buy in.

For many health experts, the availability of Lunchables and other processed foods in schools runs counter to the effort started over a decade ago by former first lady Michelle Obama, to overhaul school lunch diets amid sharp rises in childhood obesity and other chronic health problems. 

So what happened? 

Today on “Post Reports,” we venture into a cafeteria, a food trade show and dig behind the scenes — into the history of Lunchables itself — to find answers.  

Subscribe to The Washington Post via Apple Podcasts at this link.

A previous version of this podcast included a slogan for Otis Spunkmeyer and misattributed it to C.H. Guenther & Son. The audio has been corrected.

Read More