The Pros And Cons Of Hunger In Schools

Fortunately there are programs that assist families in crisis and can help to feed the children of the United States; however the number of hungry children is growing. Child hunger in the United States has been described as an increasingly complex problem and has been called the “silent epidemic.” (Goldstein, 2009)

What is does every kid look forward to during their school day? Lunch and recess. What kids eat at lunch reflects on the rest of their day. That includes energy levels, academic performance, and how much they engage. Meaning a poor lunch that is high in fats and lacking nutrition results in a sluggish child and some claim is a factor of the childhood obesity epidemic. School lunches should be reevaluated to provide students with a nutrient balance diet to help supply children with healthy brain functions to increase productivity in school, promotes beneficial future eating habits which can prevent further obesity issues in children, and it promotes an increase of attendance. To change what the schools here in the United States serve children food we have to take a deeper look into who is in charge, analyze the current standards and policies, and compare it to what a proper diet should be for children.

School lunches are often unsung heroes of many modern American households. Frequently overlooked and disregarded because of their stigma, school lunches are a key ingredient that may help make the world a better place. Unknowingly, great numbers of individuals in our communities deal with food insecurities every day of their lives. It baffles me that in an advanced society many people do not have the resources to provide food for themselves or their families. Until it affected me personally, I was unaware nor passionate about the struggles of food insecurity. My passion for solving food insecurity in my local community has led me to gain both experience and leadership through understanding and advocating for those around me.

One in six children in the United States do not know when they will get their next meal. Children who are facing hunger struggle in school, are more likely to repeat a grade, have developmental concerns and have behavioral problems. The National School Lunch Program has brought meals to millions of children from food insecure families for free or reduced rates.

One in four American children live in food-insecure households, meaning that they lack adequate access to food of any type, not just food with significant nutritional value (Ford, 2013, p. 58). As these families are the most likely to have children who both leave for and return home from school to an empty house, they are also the most likely to have children who prepare meals for themselves. Often, children fail to nourish themselves, skipping meals when they are running late or because they find nothing in the pantry they are capable of preparing. These students ready themselves (and sometimes siblings) for school and frequently don’t take their first meal until mid-day, losing precious hours of instructional time to distraction over food, fatigue due to low levels of nourishment, and other physical ailments tied to poor nutrition. If school breakfasts were free and readily available to all public school students, morning meals would be

It was difficult to read that countless millions of federal dollars and many of our country's most successful efforts to halt the spread of childhood hunger and starvation have recently been withdrawn. And as a result, this problem of childhood hunger is not getting better but is actually getting worse. The most recent estimates compiled by the USDA in 1999 indicate that 36.2 million Americans live in food-insecure households, which means that their access to adequate and safe food is limited or uncertain. This too is very disturbing information.

Many people do not realize that hunger and malnutrition is a problem that many Americans face on a daily basis. Maybe, we are failing to realize that our country is not perfect, but if we don’t try to do anything then more and more children will die. The problem with child hunger is that the United States may not face as dramatic problems with hunger as that of other countries, but

You may think child hunger is only in a certain area or somewhere where it's really poor, but in reality the U.S has some crisis to and child hunger is one of them. Solving child hunger is not an easy thing to accomplish in solving, but in the U.S we can make a change by donating to food programs. Donating to food programs is not the only choice you can join the fight against child hunger, pack groceries, serve a meal, change a life by giving and pledge to volunteer. By helping and donating you just not only help provide plenty of meals for children around the U.S so that no child goes hungry, but change their lives and make them have a food-secure household. These are many ways people around the U.S are solving the problem to stop child hunger

Though many local food banks and schools have contributed to fixing this issue, there is much more that can be done alleviate the problem. Contacting Solano County’s schools and community leaders to expand summer food programs will benefit students who rely on school food for their daily meals. Furthermore, working with care and homes centers will not only assist the staff members, but will also ensure children and adults get a nutritional meal every day. Donating cans of food whenever there is a food drive at school or any place asking is another way to provide food for those who need it. Raising awareness to those who do not know about local food drives and programs will also help. Of course, there is always an option to start a new food drive. By lending a helping hand, there will be more smiles on the faces of children and adults who have not done so in a long

Obesity is crucial in this country, in order for there to be a change we need to start serving healthy foods at schools. The First Lady Michelle Obama brought this healthy lunch concern to the educational system. California’s Department of Education Nutrition Services provides fresh fruit and vegetables to students as a supplement throughout the day. California’s schools have moved ahead to support Hunger-Free Kids policy. The local government regulates school districts including Los Angeles Unified School District to serve whole grains, fruits and vegetables versus foods high in calories. The Hunger-Free Kids policy allowed public schools to serve healthy lunches preventing obesity.

In this discussion, we talked of a new law passed in New Mexico: The Hunger-Free Students’ Bill of Rights Act. This law required all students to have access to the same lunch. This law is beneficial to the students who wouldn’t be able to eat during school hours. Thanks to the law, students will be able to eat school lunches that will provide them with the nutrients they need in order to keep their brains and body functioning well. In other words, this probably means more better performance in school for students. What I found unfair in the article was that a school worker in Colorado was fired after feeding a first grader with no lunch money. I understand that the law was not enforced during that time but it seems really unfair.

It is early on a Saturday evening. After a challenging day of studying and a grueling dance rehearsal, my stomach grumbles. I think to myself, I am starving! But then, I stop. I am not starving. The hunger that I feel is not even a hint of the constant pain that many individuals experience on a daily basis. This realization makes you appreciate how fortunate our Brookfield Academy community is. While some would wish to fly or wish for a material object, ending world hunger would be my wish. Food is one of the five basic necessities for life. The current economy is creating an even higher hurdle for underprivileged families to purchase food, as well as for the support of charities to make food donations. Whether globally, or in our local

Imagine you are an academically failing student sitting in math class your stomach growls at you as you fail to understand what the teacher is trying to explain. Why? Because you are considered food insecure, so you don’t have enough food to create the energy needed to focus on school meaning that you could get held back. Think about this 16 million children are considered food insecure just in America. In Buncombe county 34,340 people are food insecure. Many people confuse hunger and food insecurity as the same thing however the are not. A person can be hungry because they didn’t eat breakfast, but someone who is food insecure doesn’t have access to enough healthy food. One local organization working to solve this problem is MANNA Food Bank.

I think that taking all the uneaten food from school cafeterias and composting it is a great and very earth efficient idea. Many kids do not eat all the food they are given at lunch. So this idea the food that kids were going to throw away, so it can go rot in a landfill, can go towards a good cause and do something more then rot.

Schools should indeed allow students to eat in class. Although it does cause a mess, the students would be happier, they would be more on task, and they would not complain about being hungry. If schools were to allow children to eat in class not only would the students be grateful that they have this big a privilege, but they would also have more respect for the school as well as the teachers for making such a big change like this to happen.