Nutritional Alternative Paste Program

The Nutritional Alternative Paste Program (NAPP) was a public-private venture by the federal government in conjunction with the Vault-Tec Corporation active in October 2077.

Background
A public-private venture by the federal government and in conjunction with the Vault-Tec Corporation, the project was billed as a short term way to help schools and as long term a service to the country by helping push the limits on the knowledge of food and nutritional science. Participating in the project brought funding to schools in need of a steady supply of funding, — such as the Suffolk County Charter School — something evermore hard to come by with the current socioeconomic situation. As an added benefit they would fund assemblies promoting safety; the first of which was on the 21st, it was about the dangers of strangers and given by Jangles the Moon Monkey.

During the period of the program, nothing but the new nutrient-rich food paste would be served to the students and eventually staff. No outside food was tolerated on school grounds and scientists were periodically sent to observe reactions to the NAPP, and ensure proper testing conditions. Failure to comply would've resulted in a revoking of the funding.

In reality however it was an inhumane and immoral experiment on children; one with prolonged psychological and physical side effects. All observed effects were brushed off as "assuredly psychosomatic" and "possibly related to a lack of trust in the government."

This program was run continuously throughout the final week of October, 2077. Strict adherence to the program was kept, it became policy to throw away the parents carefully packed lunches. Even during the Glee Club's seasonal bake sale – to send their team to regionals – they were only allowed to sell colorful cups of food paste. All despite no one liking the flavorless pink sludge. Although flavor varieties would have been on their way pending continued success of the program.

When the Great War came to be, the staff and students of the Suffolk County Charter School who were on campus would (barring the dead from radiation exposure) become feral ghouls. These ghouls in turn would still be consuming the food paste two hundred years later and would have this paste to thank for their peculiarly pink complexion.

Appearances
The Nutritional Alternative Paste Program is mentioned in Fallout 4, although its product food paste appears in game.