NEW YORK (AP) — Urban school districts in California, Florida, Illinois, New York and Texas announced Wednesday they are joining forces to coordinate school lunch planning in an attempt to keep costs down while providing healthful food choices.

“Our goal is to offer our students nutritious and delicious meals while keeping costs down,” said Kathleen Grimm, New York City’s deputy schools chancellor for operations. With food costs rising, the alliance “will help us to band together and control costs by buying in large quantities,” she said.

The districts also will work together to purchase items like biodegradable trays in bulk, New York City Department of Education spokeswoman Margie Feinberg said.