The Idea Of School Breakfast Programs

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.

Hunger has been a prevalent issue in both established communities and struggling nations around the globe. It seems that there has never been a time when every person on the planet was food secure, and while it is typically assumed that hunger is an issue only in developing nations, malnutrition and hunger are concerns even in the United States. Millions of children across the country live in homes where food is scarce and meals are skipped on a regular basis. Because research supports the connection between nutrition, good health, and cognitive ability, it is critical that methods of addressing food shortages for minor children be found. One solution, the School Breakfast Program, seeks to provide healthy breakfast meals for children

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.'

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

I see poor nutrition and low birth weight affecting students in my classroom more and more. There are many programs within districts to try to help offset the problem of poor nutrition. Our school has voted to implement breakfast in the classroom this fall. This program will allow every student in my class to have access to free breakfast every day. I used to keep extra food on hand in my classroom for students who would inevitably complain about not having had breakfast. A study on the breakfast program found that “There is significant evidence of positive academic effects due to breakfast consumption” (Benefits, 2010). This program is one way that we can help our students to have the nourishment they need to be able to learn and

School lunch within the United States has progressed to suit nutritious consumption for children in order to promote a healthy lifestyle. The National School Breakfast Program feeds 10 million children every day, and the National School Lunch Program feeds more than 30 million children daily.¹ Upwards of about 50 percent of total caloric needs are achieved at school, hence the need for nutritious and hearty meals for these growing individuals.

Evaluation: (How was the target population served?): The children were very receptive the information given. All goals were met as the children were eager to talk to their parents about properly nutrition not only for breakfast but in their future as well. A readiness to enhance their daily routine by incorporating healthy breakfast options was noted. Being that healthy foods are lacking into today’s generation, this population of children seemed as though they understood the topic how to read nutrition labels, measure out serving sizes and calculate the amount of sugars in various foods.

To children, juicy burgers and salty French fries are much more appetizing than dry chicken sandwiches and baked sweet potato fries. However, due to the Healthy, Hunger-Free Kids Act of 2010, the diets of children are being filled with the latter as a way to implement a healthier diet into their lives. Many students in public schools across the United States are unhappy with the many changes such as this. Is implementing a healthier school lunch program a lost cause? We need to find a better way to improve students’ diets, rather than forcing this unbeneficial program on them.

When you look at school lunches, do you see amazingly tasty food, carefully cooked and treated with care and delicacy? No, instead you typically see frozen patties that looks and tastes like they were thrown into a microwave, with whole grain bread and disgusting. low-fat milk for a drink. For a long time, school lunches have not met students’ expectations, and there are very easy ways to make school lunches a lot more enjoyable while maintaining a low school budget. School lunches need to have some major improvement with how they prepare their food, and bring a satisfyingly nutritious and delicious meal to the lunch tables.

According to the U.S.D.A, (2008), “Some schools say that in order to satisfy students and keep up revenues, they may need to offer foods lower in nutritional quality.” Some say school is supposed to be the place that we lay the foundation to teaching children good, healthy habits that will benefit them for the rest of their life. The actual training of good habits start at home with the continuation at school. Most children do not prefer the taste of healthy foods, but it is important to teach our children at a young age, to eat healthier foods so they can grow up to be healthy

This initiative aimed to teach the parents about the importance of nutrition in child development and ways to improve lunches and long term negative effects on unhealthy eating as proper nutrition is an important part of healthy child development. Newcomers to Canada are faced with numerous challenges, and by targeting the low income immigrant parents we hoped to provide some benefit from the additional information. The initiative was completed through the suggestion of the principal as he reported seeing a growing number of students bringing unhealthy lunches to school with no signs of improvement. With the increased consumption of junk food, the principal mentioned that some behavioural issues such as hyperactivity and

Under 5’s: How healthy school dinners meet the nutritional requirements of the need for under 5’s.

When I look back at my experiences through elementary school, and think about the school lunches, my memories tend to be very vivid in my head. When it comes to lunch, usually parents would expect some sort of nutritious, put together meals. Students are now accustomed to seeing nothing but long lunch lines, hearing loud talking, and seen eating very greasy, harmful and unappealing food. I recall numerous times seeing students in my class eating nothing but disgusting junk food as the main course of their meal and others simply throwing it away in the trash. One would think that elementary school lunches are promoting healthy, successful lifestyles among the young children, but what the parents don’t realize is that how are these elementary schools suppose to accomplish that when their school meals are so unhealthy? This is one of the main reasons why parents need to provide healthier lunches containing more delicious variety of edible food that not only is seen as considerably significant for children at a young age, but also helps develop the necessary nutrition

School lunch is an important meal for kids that go to school everyday, but many people wonder about the actual benefits of school lunch provided to kids. School lunch is meant to provide kids the energy to push through the rest of the day and continue to work hard mentally. School lunch is meant to fill a kid’s empty stomach if they missed breakfast or are just hungry. Kids are always advised to eat healthy and get all of their necessary nutrients everyday. Most kids don’t often get their necessary nutrients at school though, especially because of the choices provided to them by their schools. In some cases, kids can’t afford to bring their own lunch from home because of financial reasons. This can also relate back to CPS and their own

The fast-paced lifestyle of Americans today results in unhealthy frozen T.V. dinners and take-out meals. In present day society, the role of woman and men are virtually equal. With this making both the mother and father of families busy, there is little time for home cooked meals. A hardy breakfast is replaced with sugary pop-tarts, hand packed lunches is replaced with money for fast food, and frozen T.V. trays take the place of a healthy dinner. These foods may all taste good, but they are not healthy. By giving children lunch money, the children are having the choice to buy whatever foods they please. It could be easily assumed that a child would choose a candy bar, chips, and a soda over a school lunch. Again, the children are not the only ones to be blamed here. The parents need to take time to guide their children towards what food is healthy and what food is unhealthy. By taking a little more time out of the day and making healthier food choices, the rate of childhood obesity could slow down, if not stop altogether.