WASHINGTON, D.C. – As Michelle Obama paints a rosy picture of her overhaul of the National School Lunch Program during a summer Italy junket, members of Congress are assessing a more accurate picture.

And it’s downright disgusting.

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“They were god-awful,” Rep. Todd Rokita said of mashed potatoes he ate during a recent school visit, at a House hearing on the program Tuesday. “Then they made me a batch of mashed potatoes under the regulations they have to get to in the next 10 years and they were just terrible.”

“These regulations have created an environment where students are not getting the nourishment they need, and food and taxpayer dollars wind up in the trashcan,” according to committee chairman Rep. John Kline.

It’s these kinds of meals, as posted by Savannah Finney: pancakes in a cellophane wrapper (not butter and syrup, of course), powdered eggs, a small (sausage?) patty and an apple.

https://twitter.com/savannahfinney3/status/610465429002264577

At the hearing, Agriculture Secretary Tom Vilsack defended the federal regulations.

Vilsack responded that out of the 99,000 schools across the country, it would be possible for Rokita to find a meal kids wouldn’t like.

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“That’s why we’ve focused on ways and strategies to help school districts do a better job,” he said. The department now offers recipes and meal ideas because schools apparently still aren’t as enlightened as the bureaucrats sitting in Washington, D.C.

“Mr. Secretary, I’ve found creative people there,” Rokita said, referring to the school. “These weren’t deep fry cooks, OK.”

The Hill reports Rokita let out an “exasperated laugh” after saying schools in his district have tried new ingredients and different ways to make the federally regulated lunches more appealing with little success.

Vilsack proposed doubling down on the rules, by “bringing chefs in to help schools make more creative meals, providing grants to help schools buy new kitchen equipment and pairing struggling schools with succeeding schools in mentorship programs,” the paper reports.

The “healthy” lunch rules pushed by the first lady expire September 30 and Congress is now evaluating whether to keep them as-in, modify or replace them.

To date, Republicans have only shown a willingness to tackle minor changes.