Being Hungry In Class

Student hunger is a serious problem. In the article “No One Believes We Do This to Kids: Will Congress End School Lunch Shaming?,” Heather Long explained the results of not having enough money, “A school lunch cost around $2.35. When a kid doesn’t have enough money, many schools require cafeteria workers to take a kids tray of hot food away and throw it in the trash. Children are then handed a cold cheese sandwich---or they are forced to go hungry with no food at all.” The school shouldn’t be wasting food because a student couldn’t pay. They should give the student the food because what's the point of throwing it away. In addition, the article, “Why Lunches in School Need to be Free,” the author explains that “being hungry makes it difficult to focus, makes a child’s mood more surly and

foods to students they will not eat it. While there are many students that do not want to eat

In Caroline Rios’s essay, Hungry for Education, she states a question regarding to one of the causes for why students aren’t concentrate during school. One of the contributing factors is due to the lack of food that students need in school and at home. I believe the question she asks is very open-ended and specific because Caroline wonders how students are able to learn at school if their minds are thinking of food all the time due to the fact that they’re hungry.

Grades K-5 are served a maximum of 650 calories, grades 6-8 700 calories, and grades 9-12 receive a maximum of 850 calories (“Federal Nutrition Standards for School Meals”). This leaves many students hungry. While it is hard to accommodate each child individually, your average active child that is involved in sports and other extra-curricular activities, is going to require more calories to maintain their weight than an overweight or obese child who needs to lose weight. Left hungry and unfulfilled, those student will move on to vending machines and a la carte to satisfy their hunger. Limiting the amount of calories served doesn’t necessarily solve the issue. Eating more calories than necessary of a healthy food choice, is a much better alternative than eating the right amount of calories but choosing a poor food

Most students will not eat all of their lunch since the “Healthy, Hunger-Free Kids Act of 2010” was put into action.

The importance of a healthy breakfast cannot be underestimated. A child who is undernourished in the morning will not be functional for her class until lunch. Also, schools can act as supporters of positive, healthy behaviors by offering nutritious breakfasts such as fruit and yogurt, versus the fast food breakfasts some adolescents might grab, if they get breakfast at all. Many school districts are beginning earlier and earlier in the day, and students are simply not hungry enough or do not get up early enough in the morning for breakfast, leaving them starving by 10am. Being able to grab breakfast in study hall can thus prevent many potential academic and nutritional problems.

Therefore, modifying the Healthy Hungry-Free Kids Act of 2010 is a great start to meeting the needs of a more diverse student body. In deciding to keep the program the same, active and athletic students leave school undernourished everyday. Consequently, students not receiving their nutritional needs could also quench their hunger with unhealthy alternatives. For example, they could choose to visit a gas station before a sport practice to get through the practice. A healthy lunch program is ineffective if, in effect, it causes students to consume more unhealthy alternatives. Overall, this either causes undernourished students or students indulging in unhealthy alternatives. Neither of these is a good outcome for the students health, it would more effective to offer a second serving of healthier food during

Research shows that school lunches are highly concentrated in salt, sugar and unsaturated fat. Elementary, middle and high schools are over populated with vending machines, school stores and snack bars. It is not uncommon for a student to grab more than 2 or 3 snacks at once from the lunch line without

68 percent of students say they buy food from the cafeteria every day. Proper nutrition is tied to better academic performance. This means that kids will not do their best in school if they are fed unhealthy lunches (Black). The unhealthy lunches kids are given at school are the main contribution to childhood obesity. According to scientists, children who eat too much fat, sugar, sodium or processed food and too few vitamins and minerals are likely to develop a higher risk over time for several chronic health problems (Angela). These health problems include heart disease, and diabetes. At this time, more than ever, 55 percent of Americans are obese and 20 percent of Americans are overweight (Three Facts About School Lunches). Many schools offer healthy choices, but they did not decrease the calories in them, and they typically still offer unhealthy snack items (Three Facts About School Lunches). In a school cafeteria with both healthy and unhealthy choices offered to kids, most kids are not willing to choose the healthier choices over the unhealthy ones. So where an apple is avoided and a bag of potato chips is selected as a child’s first choice for a snack

Parents think that ‘restricting’ their kids from eating too much is good, but is their child getting the correct calories to focus on schoolwork and get through the rest of the day? On average, school lunches give 700-830 calories a serving.”Some kids are saying they are hungry and their lunch isn’t filling them up.” (citation) A child needs 2,000 calories to get through their day. Schools’ think the less the calories, the less the obesity chances, the schools strategy is causing more harm than good. The students complain about how they are still hungry after lunch. Maybe giving students more calories to get on through the day is not such a bad idea.

Learning information depletes the brain's supply of glucose. It is important to refuel children's glucose levels with a healthy lunch. Whole grains, fruits, vegetables, and lean sources of protein are options that are highly effective in improving academic performance. It is scientifically proven that after a child eats a large, non-healthy meal, they feel more tired due to the body's process of digestion. A student eating significant amounts of less nutritional food can be harder to digest and make their bodies work harder. A healthy lunch can give children the energy they need to stay focused, pay attention in class, and learn the information presented to them in their classes after lunchtime.

Buddha once said, “ To keep the body in good health is a duty...otherwise we shall not be able to keep our minds strong and clear.” A trend started across the United States several years ago towards improving the quality of food provided for students eating school lunch. “School lunch has evolved quite a bite over the last century”(Avey). In spite of this evolution, there are many reasons why the public school system should further improve their daily lunch program. These changes would still include the daily recommended balance of fruits, vegetables, proteins, and carbohydrates. The top three reasons to improve school lunches include: obesity rate, overall grades, and lifelong habits.

First of all, students aren’t motivated to eat unhealthy, not-tasty food. If you observed students buying lunch in the cafeteria, you don’t often see them buying these kinds, but not limited to, foodstuffs: burritos (which are just beans wrapped in tortillas), “burgers” (meat slapped on two

Typical college students tend to procrastinate on their work. This leads to an “all-nighters” when students stay up the whole night to cram for an exam or finish writing an essay that is due the next morning. Most of the time, students get hungry during these all-nighters and stock up on unhealthy snacks like sodas and foods loaded with sugar to keep them awake through the night. With the dining halls so close to student housing, this makes stocking up on greasy, fried, and sugary food very convenient. The dining halls that provide these sugar-filled and greasy food gives students the wrong kind of energy. For real energy that keeps a student alert and focused, students should snack on fruits, whole grains, proteins, and carbohydrates. Eating foods like these will keep students awake and focus.

Junk food, junk food, junk food is around all corners of schools. Chocolate, cookies, soda, potato chips, and Sour Strings may sound delectable to some people, but are they nutritious? Some people wonder if there should be a change. Encouraging exceptional nutrition in schools is essential by reasons of students will consume foods that are better for them, schools will pay less for meals, and fewer students would go hungry.