• LAUSD is initiating a free breakfast program at 267 schools next year. [CBS]
• The smiling dude on the Quaker Oats box has a name, Larry, and he’s getting a makeover: The new and improved Larry will be slimmer and younger. And maybe he can get some cooler clothes? [WSJ]
• As people have been doing for centuries, Starbucks is using ground-up cochineal beetles for that pretty pink color in its strawberry Frappuccinos. As you’d expect, the vegan community is pretty pissed. [USAT]
• The U.S. had planned to send food aid to North Korea, but it has suspended those intentions as Pyongyang refuses to drop plans for launching a long-range missile. [Chicago Tribune]
• Evan Kleiman introduces us to the Farmers Market Fairy. [LAW]
• ABC leaves out the whole of South L.A. when looking at the city’s “best barbecue.” [ABC]
• On the other hand, LAist delivers an awesome look at ten places to find exotic and unusual foods. [LAist]
• S. Irene Virbila suggests Clementine, Short Cake, and Bouchon Bakery for a great breakfast. [LAT]
• Bizarro celebrity diets go all the way back to the forties with a guru of sorts named Gayelord Hauser, explains the similarly funny named Simon Doonan. [Slate]
• Marilyn Hagerty and Anthony Bourdain are reportedly in talks to collaborate on a book of some kind. This should be interesting … [Eater NY]