Students Tweet Unappealing Photos of Their School Lunches With Hashtag #ThanksMichelleObama

Some high school students have taken to social media to express their displeasure with their new USDA-approved school lunches which were initiated by the First Lady in 2012.

High school students from all around the country are sarcastically thanking Michelle Obama for their unappealing school lunches. The hashtag #ThanksMichelleObama along with photos of the students' not-so-tasty-looking cafeteria food began trending on Twitter on Friday, November 21. 

A student named Hunter Whitney first complained about his lunch on Twitter on November 14. "Had a very #healthylunch today. The apple definitely made up for the 'mystery mush' #ThanksMichelleObama," he wrote along with a photo of a soupy Spanish rice gone wrong and an apple on a school lunch tray. According to BuzzFeed, Hunter is a student of Wisconsin's Richmond Center High School. The photo was retweeted more than 250 times. 

Another student named Marissa Garrett tweeted, "So disappointed in this modified Thanksgiving lunch.. @MichelleObama #ThanksMichelleObama," along with a picture of her school lunch. Jess Sency, meanwhile, posted a photo of what was supposed to be baked beans. 

Other Twitter users are slamming the hashtag, saying that the students' poor school lunches are more the fault of their individual schools. Joseph Drummond wrote, "Everyone tweeting #ThanksMichelleObama needs to not. You'll thank her when you're not 300 pounds and have diabetes." Abby Normal tweeted, "Instead of blaming the 1st lady, why don't you look closer at the people who are cutting corners in the lunch programs. #ThanksMichelleObama." 

Another user named Meltonwax posted, "#ThanksMichelleObama blaming her for your schools bad cooks is just stupid. Talk to the school. Eating healthy is the right direction." 

Michelle and the U.S.Department of Agriculture initiated new health guidelines for school cafeterias in 2012 to fight childhood obesity. Back in July, the First Lady said that she'd "fight until the bitter end to make sure that every kid in this country continues to have the best nutrition that they can have." 

The new USDA guidelines implemented that school lunches required more fruits, vegetables and whole grains. There are also limits on sodium, sugar and fat. 

The USDA has responded to the hashtag in a statement to BuzzFeed. "Independent research shows that a majority of American kids like healthier school lunches, the number of students that like their meals is growing, and that updated meal standards are working to help improve students' health," a spokeperson says. 

"Students are always provided full servings of both fruits and vegetables as well as protein options, so clearly many of the photos posted do not fully reflect the full range of choices students are provided," the spokeperson adds, "Congress passed updated healthy school lunch standards, based on recommendations from pediatricians, with overwhelming bipartisan support to help reduce our country's childhood obesity epidemic and ensure kids are able to get nutritious food at school."