School Lunches Program Analysis

The United States have been facing a problem of obesity for quite some time now. And no matter how far we dig into this problem, we will find many reasons for the cause. In today’s society, politicians are inclined to take this issue serious because it is now affecting our children on a large scale. According to the United States Department of Health and Human Services, 1 in 3 adolescents between the ages of 6 and 19 are overweight. Many believe this to be a problem of poor eating habits and in some cases the lack of healthy eating options. In the documentary Food Inc. it mentions schools choosing healthy lunch options provided by local farming. In this paper I will evaluate how Wisconsin public schools have adopted programs that will

In addition to Balko's claims, Carol Ann Marples and Diana-Marie Spillman conducted a survey for high school students. Due to the lack of participation, the students were asked what their attitude were toward school lunches. The article states, "The quality and variety of foods offered were significant factors affecting the students' decision to participate" (Marples and Spillman). Marples and Spillman's point is that the students are less likely to purchase low-quality foods. Another constraining factor is the variety of foods the school's cafeteria provides. These factors conclude that our spending to "manipulating the array of food options" (467) is unnecessary since students are choosing to not participate.

Everyone loves the idea of a government that truly cares about him or her. Especially a government that would go so far as to layout a healthy diet plan to insure the health of your children and to battle childhood obesity. It is great that the government is concerned about adolescent obesity and the nutrition students receive at school. However, the National School Lunch Program (NSLP) Food and Nutrition Guidelines provide more problems for schools and they need to be eradicated, as well as repealing the Healthy, Hunger-Free Kids Act.

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

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

Childhood obesity is when a child is well overweight for his or her age. One of the main causes are dietary patterns. According to the Center of Disease and Control Prevention, almost half of the United States middle and high schools advertise foods with high sugars, fats and salts. In addition to that, they also have a high calorie count. This makes it very difficult for students to make healthy choices. The first large school lunch project began in Boston high schools in 1894. Ever since then the government has claimed that they have been providing nutritious lunches for students. Between 1894 and 1977….. but in 1977 according to food timeline, America’s school lunches are the reflection of student’s food habits. The general accounting officer argues that, “The government subsidized school lunch served to 25 million American School Students may be harmful to their health”. This means that the unhealthy meals that are served to our students are not nutritious. He also argues that it creates sustenance for some of our children but it may lead to obesity in others due to the large portion sizes and the decrease amount of supplemental nutrients. Because America has cut spending on school lunches, they have only been able to provide a limited amount of healthy options to schools. Over time the quality of nutrition has went down and now we are at the point where we have no choice but to take action on

The health of students should be considered one of the most important issues in education. However, as of 2012, the Center for Disease Control calculated that over one third of children and adolescents were either overweight or obese. Not only does obesity cause physical health problems, but can also affect the academic performance of students. Over the past few years, Americans have been working together to find solutions for this problem.

The most essential part to the future success of America is the children of America, and

According to National Heart Lung and Blood institute, in America, 1 in 6 kids are obese. Although obesity might not seem that much of a big deal, it is. Childhood obesity can lead to much worse health problems later in adulthood, such as higher risk of heart disease, diabetes, high blood pressure, hypertension, and even cancer, among many chronic health issues all caused by obesity. Many kids get about half of their daily calories at school, and for some, school is where they get all of their daily calories. Since school plays such a big part in affecting the lives of many kids across America, special attention should be shown to nutrition. This can help kids with obesity, as well as kids that don’t have much food at home to eat and only rely on school food. For many poor kids, they don’t have a lot of healthy foods at home, because they can’t afford it. So, they rely on cheap school food for their vitamins and nutrients. Because cafeteria foods, like hamburgers or beef and cheese nachos, are highly processed and filled with unnecessary fat ,those kids that rely on school for food won’t get the nutrients and vitamins they need and will go home hungry. Since kids are growing up, it is especially important for them to get the right food they need to grow up healthy and strong, and in a place full of kids that are growing up, it is only right to provide them with good and healthy food that will allow the kids to grow up into healthy adults without obesity, malnourishment, or any kind of health

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

Schools lunches are not healthy as it causes childhood obesity. Obesity is an unrelenting health problem nationally. Obesity is a problem among adults and children. Research shows that 30 percent of adults are obese and 16 percent of children ages 6-19 years old are obese. One contributing factor to childhood obesity is that children spend majority of the day at school and consume more than half of their daily calorie intake there. All public schools are funded by the National School Lunch Program which annually provides $6.1 billion in total cash payments to local schools^ and an additional $4.7 billion in in-kind surplus food commodities Such as fruit juices and peanut butter(Schanzenbach 685). Obesity can lead to diabetes cancer and other health problems. Schools don’t want to make changes by replacing the bad food with healthier options because they will lose revenue and they don’t want that.

The current state of affairs isn’t ideal for school children as many schools offer children foods of minimal nutritional value with some schools still allowing fast food restaurants to provide their services in high schools and middle schools. The current policies actually contribute to the toxic environment that many children face both at home and at school as those most impacted by the obesity epidemic are minority and poor urban children who don’t have healthy choices at home or in school. Part of the problem

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.

Nowadays, more children in the United States are struggling with obesity. According to the State of Obesity (2012), “5 percent of 6-to-11-years-olds were severely obese” (para. 2). Since we discovered such information, we decided to follow big idea number ten which states, “Primary education (six to eight years) must be designed to meet the unique development of children this age” (Couchenour & Chrisman, 2011, p. 276). We created an advocacy action plan called Nutritionists and Healthy Lunches (N.H.L). In this action plan, we advocate that elementary schools should hire at least two nutritionists. The nutritionists would go into each classroom at least once a week for about twenty minutes. During these

Federally-funded school meal programs, including the National School Lunch Program (NSLP) and the School Breakfast Program (SBP), serve an average of 31.3 million lunches and 11.1 million breakfasts per day at a cost to the country of $11.1 billion in 2011 (Food & Nutrition Services, 2012). These federally-funded meals are an excellent opportunity for regulation of nutrition as well as education regarding healthy choices. Obesity is clearly a great threat to the health of our nation, and the federal government must step in to defend its citizens against this growing threat. Children are at the mercy of their families, their social conditions, and their schools, predisposing them to obesity through poor nutritional options and a lack of education; the federal government must intervene through regulation of school meals and snacks to protect children from the abundance of unhealthy options while also educating them and reducing childhood obesity.