PORTSMOUTH, Va. (PIX11) — Nutrition in school lunches has been a hot topic ever since first lady Michelle Obama implemented mandatory nutritional and USDA standards into the fare served in cafeterias all over the country.

Young children are notorious for being picky eaters, but would you blame them for refusing to eat THIS?

A student’s mother captured an image of a meal that was supposed to be “spicy cajun fish” with a bun on top of cooked corn served Tuesday at James Hurst Elementary School in Portsmouth, Virginia, WAVY-TV reported.

In a statement, the school district said it is concerned about the photo but attributed the unappetizing image to “bad lighting,” adding that the food meets nutritional health requirements.

“We appreciate this parent’s concern about the presentation of this school lunch. Poor lighting and food presentation make this lunch unappealing. Other lunch options on the day this photo was taken included a chef’s salad and turkey sub sandwiches. The meal in this photo and other meals served by Portsmouth Public Schools meet nutritional and USDA requirements. The presentation of the meal pictured concerns us and we plan to address presentation of food items in a training session with all cafeteria managers. Our goal is to provide healthy food options that students will want to eat. We will take actions to ensure that presentation is addressed.”

But, what’s the point of “nutrition” if it’s encased in something barely edible?

The School Nutrition Association is calling for a funding increase for the National School Lunch Program.

“That will help school food authorities afford the foods that we must serve, but unfortunately that won’t make students consume it,” SNA President Julia Bauscher said.

On Tuesday, the school offered the following menu choices: spicy cajun fish with brown rice, cold cut tucket sub, assorted chef salad with croutons and crackers, steamed carrots and side salad, fresh orange or canned fruit and 1 percent skim milk.

The school said it plans to address the presentation of food in a training session with all cafeteria employees.

In a poll of more than 10,000 participants conducted by WAVY-TV, 92.3 percent of people did not believe the pictured lunch was “acceptable.”

Rush Limbaugh held a discussion on the topic on his radio show Friday.