Assignment #3: School lunches: Should they be reformed?
Introduction
One of the most controversial issues today is the question of how to address childhood obesity. Because of the large proportion of meals that children, particularly low-income children, consume in schools, cafeteria food has been targeted by dietary reformers as in need of a major overhaul. However, while many different types of new school menus have been proposed, the extent to which healthier foods can be offered remains controversial. Opponents to reform state that children will not eat healthier lunches, and that changing the food that children eat will have minimal impact, since the children will either bring food from home or eat food at home that is more 'kid friendly.'
Summary and response
One of the most notable advocates of school reforms is British chef Jamie Oliver, whose 'food revolution' popularized on his prime time reality TV show highlighted the lack of nutritious school food in many areas of the country. Oliver's program has drawn the ire of many critics liberal as well as conservative. One critic, Chez Pazienza, a fan of Oliver, as a chef, found the project to reform school lunches to be a rather disturbing limitation on children's personal freedoms. "I get the argument that little good comes from giving kids milk that pumps them full of sugar and empty calories, but is an outright ban on it really the way to go? What about the child who just likes chocolate milk and can actually
Do you think your school needs improvements? I think my school has a few, but the lunches are easily the most recognizable. The school board should change our lunches because they are microwaved, they are not filling, and the school lunches have the same thing every day of the week. Seriously, none of the kids like them, so just get us brand named foods.
To sum it up, the act Michelle Obama has placed is found unreasonable due to the fact that the foods still aren’t healthy enough. As well as parents, kids, and nutritional services are all being ignored of their opinions commented to Michelle Obama. Another statement is the people that have sent letters and try to reason with Michelle Obama have also seen her anger and fury against their thoughts. Not only are the parents ignored but the needs of kids from their school lunches. Finally, this act is completely unutterable to those against this
This is an article published by The New York Times concerning the Healthy, Hunger-Free Kids Act. Became the only article to question the taste of school lunches. While hitting valid points, the writer is highly opinionated. Briefly covers the relationship between the child's mindset and eating habits when comparing American perspective on food with the French after introducing "French Kids Eat Everything" by Karen Le
Is school lunch actually feeding America’s children? (1. Rhetorical Question) Today, many students are reporting that they are unsatisfied with their school’s lunch. Strict guidelines set for America’s schools control what exactly is going through cafeterias in order to maintain healthy and happy students. However, students are disappointed in these guidelines and disagree that they are of any benefit. School lunches still lack nutrition, limit food choices and proportions, and neglect appeal. (2. Parallelism)
Children in America are faced with different choices every day. Some of these choices can be either good or bad for them. But these children don't really know the consequences of their actions, but the school does. Schools are serving unhealthy and un properly cooked meals to children every single day. These food companies make big money from these schools because the schools just buy the lunches so the kids will eat something. The schools don't really care what goes into the students stomachs, but as long as the school meets the requirements it's okay. Then the students just eat it because it looks and taste good, but they don't have an idea of what their eating is made out of or where it has been before. The government needs to start making school lunches more healthy for these students, if not then then unfortunately the number of obese children will rise.
Imagine going back to childhood and sitting in a school cafeteria during lunchtime. The room is filled with a thunderous roar as all the children laugh and discuss the plans of attack for the impending recess. Fluorescent lights cast a pale greenish glow amongst the young faces as they walk about the aisles looking for the perfect seat, while rows of tables are occupied with the eager students waiting to devour the food in front of them. Aromas of all the food waft through the air, invoking the hungry stomachs to growl with anticipation. Trays are filled with the typical lunch favorites including chicken nuggets, French fries, and a fruit cup with a good variety; however, the best are the small, pink cherries. The beverage of choice to
With obesity, especially among children, increasing in America, the topic of healthier school lunches is a big controversy. Schools all across the country are being forced to choose between healthy lunches and the students’ favorite lunches. Changing school menus is a bad idea. For some students, this could be the only meal he or she receives each day. This may also cause students to bring unhealthier food or skip lunch all together and substitute it with fast food.
The clock reads 11:39, in a few seconds the most important bell of the day will ring--the lunch bell. This bell sends students rushing to the cafeteria; some students will sit quietly at a table unpacking their lunch from home, others will wait in line to receive a lunch provided by the school. Everyday across America more than 31 million school lunches are served. The majority of these lunches fall under the regulations of the National School Lunch Program. The program, funded and regulated by the United States Department of Agriculture (USDA), has raised many questions among American citizens. One very important question is whether or not the government should be allowed to regulate/ban certain foods in the nation's school system. The government,
Childhood obesity is a major cause for concern within the United States. This is mainly due to children not getting the require nutrition that they need. Although study show that there is a decrease in obesity in children, it still remains at an all-time high. Children are failing to eat as healthy as they should, and it has become an even bigger problem now that they aren’t getting the require amount of food in their diets. The USDA made a decision a couple of years ago to reduce the amount of food given to children while they are at school. This hurts them tremendously, because the majority of the food they eat comes from being at school all day. The other half lies on the parents when they go home and eat dinner. It is very important for children to eat healthy and eat the required amount of food according to various dietary guidelines. First Lady Michelle Obama has started a new campaign to help kids and parents combat obesity in children. One thing that the campaign has placed emphases on is getting healthier food within school. Although they are getting healthier foods in school they are beginning to change the proportion they are giving students. Through the First Lady’s Let’s Move campaign students should be giving healthier foods and also be allowed to have the correct proportion to help them maintain a healthy diet.
Childhood obesity is a serious health issue currently affecting America’s population. School lunches have gained a spotlight in the search for prevention of child obesity because the majority of America’s youth eat two school meals a day during most of the year. Although the nutritional standards of school meals have been changed over the years, there is still room for improvement. With additions such as a la cart and vending machines, school meals quickly fall from the federal nutrition standards. As children grow they spend an average of 7 hours a day at school over half of the year. With almost 95% of America’s children attending school, it is one of the most stable and influential aspects of their life. With so much of a child’s time spent
School lunches, the fight to provide healthy food for kids at school, is a battle that has been going on for years with little progress. Here at SVMS, precautions have been made to help kids make healthy choices, sugary sodas aren’t sold, candy isn’t available for kids to purchase, and there is a health program that teaches kids about nutrition, but kids can still be found with lunches made completely up of chips and other unnatural food products. I think there is a different approach to helping kids get the proper nutrition, by focusing not so much on the calories and percent of sugar in each food item, but the context of where the food came from, and how the kids attain it.
Nationally, about 17% of people under the age of 20, about 12.5 million are considered obese. School districts that serve students food that are high in calories and fat are to blame for the growing numbers of obese children. Although school lunches provide students food at minimal costs, the poor quality of food served delivers inadequate nutrition and is responsible for the rising numbers of obese minors in the United States. In order to combat this growing problem, school districts must limit student choices in the lunchroom and provide healthier food nationally. Although some school districts may argue this, it is necessary to do so as school districts in Pennsylvania and Mississippi and university studies support this claim.
School food must have more variety like adding more fruits and vegetables or maybe even a salad bar to make our school lunches healthier and more appealing. There are many reasons why we should reform our school food for starters kids are always leaving at lunch to get better food from fast food chains. The school food doesn’t serve everyone’s needs and that has to change to make it fair for everyone. After reading the Ed Code, Smart Snacks for Schools, and Healthy Hunger Free Kids it is safe to say our food isn’t healthy. Adding variety would improve our school lunches in many ways.
Many kids around the world often play outside with each other; whether that be at a playground or in a back yard. Though, in America, the majority of young people own some type of electronic. Instead of burning calories playing outside, kids decide waste their energy playing games on their devices. According to the USA Today, “One of every three children in the United States is overweight or obese”(USA Today). With the population constantly growing, and the kids getting lazier and lazier, the numbers of obese children is only going to increase. The government can help America by changing kid’s diets. The only way the government can manage what kids consume is through school. Changing school’s lunch menus will be a great start, since many schools in the United States do not provide nutritious meals, In fact, the University of Washington asked a handful of middle schools and high schools to participate in a study. The study compared the meal standards before and after menu changes. The professors then calculated the meal standards using the meals’ adequacy ratio (MAR) and concluded, “The nutritional quality increased by nearly 30%, from a MAR of 58.7 before the Healthy Hunger-Free Kids Act to 75.6 after implementation”(Chen). The scientists achieved this drastic increase to the meals’ adequacy ratio just by providing a healthy variety of foods and reducing portion sizes.
In this article, the discussion involved the issue school staff members stress on children concerning "healthy foods". In colorado, a teacher sent home a note to the parent of a pre-schooler criticizing and stating that the oreo cookies packed for lunch are "unhealthy". The issue raised a question on whether or not parents or schools should decide on what to pack for lunch. The school lunch includes healthy foods such as fruits, vegetables, low fat dairy products and whole grains. Teachers believe they 're entitled to making these decisions based on what a child can eat to maintain their health.