Does School Lunches Make A Difference?

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During the last week of class, we were to read the conclusion of Free for All. In the conclusion, Poppendieck feels that food issues are on the radar more now than they were before. This shows that there is a desperate need to transform food. The food made now is different since programs were first developed, including the way food is produced, distributed, and consumed. Also, school programs keep getting new rules added to them, but none are eliminated. The price of school food is viewed as a cost to be minimized rather than an investment. With this, we realize that children’s well being has not been the central focus and it should be the primary goal of schools. Poppendieck explores different questions that arise regarding children …show more content…

In reality, most people do not like the idea of paying for lunches that families could afford. Why should meals be covered if families can pay for them? This is something I am conflicted on because I can see both sides of it. In one hand, I agree with them because the school has to make money somehow and if children are eating the lunch, it is the family’s responsibility to pay for it. I mean parents pay for breakfast and dinner, so why does lunch make a difference? In the other hand, school lunches are a part of the school day and help children stay focused, so the school should cover them. This is Poppendieck’s answer to the question because she feels it should be free for all. There is this three-tier system that is the most fundamental problem with the system. Essentially, the three-tier system includes free lunches, reduced price lunches, and full price lunches. This causes a rise in competitive foods because those who can afford it are not buying the lunch the school provides. Then, the people who are on free or reduced price lunches feel isolated and stigmatized. If lunches were free for all, it would eliminate the stigma and all the kids would be getting more …show more content…

In some schools, there is this child-as-customer model in which children are advertised to and it takes advantage of them. Schools are basically ignoring their adult responsibility because they are letting companies such as Pepsi and Fritos advertise to children. Schools can establish better eating habits at a young age and if schools focused on healthier school lunches, children might be more inclined to eat healthy. Poppendieck insists that school cafeterias should not be seen as businesses. School cafeterias are subject to rules and do not have control over certain things. They are treated like a business, but cannot run like one. Once we stop treating school cafeterias like businesses, they can run how they want and serve healthier meals that children will want to

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