School Lunch Research Paper

In the United States many citizens face hunger, starvation and malnutrition on a daily basis. This food insecurity affects millions of Americans. Food insecurity is caused when Americans don’t have enough money to purchase food for themselves and their family. When children experience hunger if affects them both physically and psychologically. “Children who are denied an adequate diet are at a greater risk of not reaching their full potential as individuals. Undernourished youngsters have trouble concentrating and bonding with other children and are more likely to suffer illnesses resulting in school absences.” (Karger, p 371) It is important for children to meet their full potential in order for society to continue thriving into the future. If children are not receiving an adequate education because they have an empty stomach, then they will not continue to higher education or they will do poorly. In order to combat hunger in children the federal government responded with several major programs. Two of the programs the National School Lunch Program (NSLP) and the School Breakfast Program (SBP) are targeted towards school age children. These programs provide students with breakfast and lunch while they are at school.

People live in a complex world where things are never as simple as they seem. Officials agree that in order for students to perform well in school, their basic needs have to be met (in conjunction with the ideas of Maslow’s hierarchy of needs). While schools may not be able to provide a safe place to sleep or warm clothing during the winter, they can provide a healthy, nutritious meal. According to the National Center for Children in Poverty, the number of children under 18 years of age living below the federal poverty level of $23,550 for a family of four represent 21.1% of the population (“Child Poverty,” n.d.). The National Lunch Act and its subsequent revisions have sought to mitigate the effects of hunger. Unfortunately, there are other circumstances that affect the desired outcomes of serving a balanced meal to students in need.

School cafeterias have been notoriously known for having unhealthy, unappealing food. Students at schools are being forced to eat these foods, when parents cannot provide regular lunches for their children. These lunches usually include the following: pizza, soda, cheeseburgers, chicken sandwiches, and others, all filled with artificial ingredients and preservatives. To address this problem, there should be a switch between the foods and drinks being served, and I have just the ideas that will be delicious and healthy. Authors Alice Waters, Katrina Heron, and Mark Bittman all agree that some initiative needs to be taken to fix this unhealthy food problem, and so do I. Together, the student body and parents will address the school board with healthier food options that are better tasting and better for the body.

The National School Lunch Program is a federally funded meal program operating in over 100,000 public. It provides nutritionally balanced, low‐cost or free lunches to more than 31 million children each school day in 2012 based on the child's household income (USDA). The program is managed by the Food and Nutrition Service at the Federal level and by a State education agency at the state level. We will be looking at the statistics of the National Lunch Program for five local schools, and compare the number of students enrolled in the districts and the percentage that are receiving free or discounted meals at school. Additionally, the requirements to be eligible to participate in the program, as well as the reimbursement the school

School lunches, curriculum focus, and daily activities have changed in elementary schools over the years. The nutritional value in school lunches often meet a bare minimum. Curriculum is focused strongly on idealistic future careers in science, technology, engineering, and mathematics; but often forget teaching basic healthy habits needed for lifelong health. Physical education is no longer required every single day. Obesity has become an epidemic and not just for adults, it is increasingly affecting children as well. Children spend a generous amount of time in the classroom. They spend more time in school than at home or anywhere else. Therefore, schools have a responsibility in preventing obesity in adolescents by teaching them healthy habits, serving them nutritious food, and providing them with adequate physical activity.

According to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, “About one in three U.S. kids are overweight or obese”. This shows that unhealthy lunches can lead to obesity because the food they are getting for lunch has too many calories. So if the students eat healthy the number of students overweight will go down. If kids eat unhealthy, they are most likely obese and that can lead to health problems, including heart disease.

Students are taking it to social media to demonstrate against the meal rules lobbied by First lady Michelle Obama. Lunches include tiny portions, mushy and unrecognizable menu items, a lettuce-and-cheese sandwich and chicken nuggets void of any chicken. School nutrition directors say the rules have proven to be costly and restrictive. House Republicans are making a final push this month to give schools a temporary break from the meal standards. School lunches have never been known for being appetizing — but these ones are particularly disgusting. Students across America are taking it to social media to demonstrate against the school meal rules championed by First Lady Michelle Obama.They're using the sarcastic hashtag 'Thanks, Michelle Obama'

Many kids throughout the United States (U.S.) attending public schools are continuously being labeled as overweight. A reason for this is because schools are not providing healthy lunches. School lunches are full of saturated fats and refined sugars, which contribute to problems like obesity. Despite this connection, there are some states that are deciding to drop out of the healthier lunch programs, because the cost is too high and the districts cannot afford to participate. Healthy food leads to improvements all over ones body system. For example Vitamin K, which is found in yellow and orange fruit and vegetables or whole wheat, gives more energy than fats and sugar. Improving the healthier lunches nutrition have the potential to benefit

Now that I have uncovered the reason of why school lunches is bad for children, you should join my belief. Obesity is not good for children, that causes bullying. Stomach viruses causes you to get sick and miss days of school. Thats how some people get held back because they miss days of school and don’t want to make up the work which causes them to fail classes. Children not getting enough to eat at school makes them lose energy. When they lose energy they begin to slack, then begin to fail. Something always leads to good or

Students have become more restricted than ever when it comes to picking the food they want to eat in the cafeteria, most of the food is healthy and has the essential vitamins and calories a student would need. The healthy hunger free kids act was implemented in 2012 and took away the use of grease, high sodium products and more. This aimed to yes take away all the tastier foods but also to try to opt for a more balanced and healthy lunch. When a student purchases a lunch, they are encouraged to take at least one fruit or vegetable and a low-fat milk. However, most of these “required foods” end up in the trash. Most of the time it’s a hit or miss with school lunches because not all school operate the same.

How are students supposed to be content and satisfied with school lunches? (Rhetorical Question) Michelle Obama’s Healthy Hunger-Free Kids Act is one of the main causes why students are not happy with lunches. This act was supposed to make kids healthier while keeping them full but instead it did the exact opposite. In protest to school lunches, and Michelle Obama’s Healthy Hunger-Free Kids Act students, administrators, and school officials need to get involved to help change school lunches. School administration needs to start paying attention and change school lunches because the lines are too long and students do not have enough time to eat, school lunches are too expensive and the kids can barely afford their lunch, and the lunches are

It’s becoming common in America that kids are obese. Fast food joints, unhealthy meals at home, and even school lunches are contributing to obesity in young children. Monday through Friday kids spend most of their time at school. being educated in just about everything besides the food they put in their bodies. You would think at school kids would be given a nutritious meal along with some knowledge on how to live a healthy lifestyle. But school lunches in America contain large amounts of sodium and fat, there were six students that helped out with an experiment, “All six samples exceeded the recommended 500 milligrams of sodium, four of them had more than 1,000 milligrams” (“Tests show school lunches high in sodium’). Schools exceed

School lunch is horrible! There is hardly any food to eat, it costs way too much, there are almost no choices for food, and there isn't any time to eat it. The one school rule that needs to be changed is the lunches and everything about them because in order to be able to focus in school, you need the right amount of nutrition.

School lunches should be improved so students can get the necessary vitamins to finish the day, to stay on task, and to fuel their minds to finish things on time.

Studies have shown that eat the lunches that are provided to them are left feeling hungry throughout the day. Their performance is affected in the classroom because of their inability to focus. You would think that if the children are struggling from something as easy as providing a little more for lunch. You would think the student’s wellbeing would come before trying to prevent obesity from a school lunch.