School Breakfast Programs
For most kids waking up in the morning, getting dressed and sitting down to a bowl of cereal and some toast is a normal occurrence for them. However for some students that luxury may not be possible. Over the past couple of years several states across the US have spent millions of dollars and served over 360 million breakfasts and lunches for children who cannot afford to have a regular priced meal or who don’t have money for food at all. With these programs producing such great results for the children in the classroom and out of school more and more states have begun to implement similar programs for underprivileged children.
One of the major reasons for the popularity of the breakfast programs is that it enables the children to start there day off with a healthy, nutritional meal. And for kids that are in elementary and middle school having a well balanced meal to start their day off is important because at that age children tend to hit growth spurts sporadically and having the right nutrition in there bodies will enable them to grow with out any complications.
Another key reason as to why the Breakfast programs have become such a major success is the in class room behavior of the students. In different polls taken across America schools that were using the breakfast programs had shown that students who took part in the programs overall grades improved, along with attendance and classroom behavior. In an article written by the Advantage Press it was stated that “A surprising benefit has been observed: there has been a sharp decrease in the number of children going to school nurses. Thus, less class time missed by students. Even teachers who had worried about the added work of overseeing br...
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...Programs January 2004
http://www.mtcef.org/activities_3a.htm
5. Provision 2 Guidance National School and Lunch Programs 3 March 2004
http://www.sde.state.id.us/child/docs/CNPResources/Publications/P2Guidance-
July242002.pdf
6. Chicago Public School Meal Programs September 2004
http://www.cps.k12.il.us/Parent/Enrollment/School_Lunch/school_lunch.html
7. ThedailyJounranl.com Monday, May 14, 2001
http://www.thedailyjournal.com/news/stories/20010514/opinion/568745.html
8. Policies and Procedure Manual Mississippi Nutrition Program September 2004
http://www.cn.mde.k12.ms.us/resources/forms/ta/mscnp15.pdf
9. Federal Food Programs
http://www.frac.org/html/federal_food_programs/programs/sbp.html
10. School Breakfast Programs August 2003
http://www.fns.usda.gov/cnd/Breakfast/AboutBFast/bfastfacts.htm
Janet Poppendieck is a professor of sociology at Hunter College in New York, and additionally she is the author of several books including her most recent Free for All: Fixing School Food in America. This book centers on America’s recent interest in whether or not our school lunches are healthy. This issue has been put into the spotlight recently through shows such as Jamie Oliver’s School Food Revolution and in the news because recent changes in the Nation School Lunch Program’s dietary guidelines. Poppendieck’s book looks at the in depth reasons into why school lunches have turned into what they are today, what challenges need to be faced in order to fix school lunches, and ultimately how our the system should be fixed. She accomplishes this by interviewing her current college students about their previous school lunch experiences, working in a school cafeteria, interviewing current school employees, and looking at the history and policies of the National School Lunch Program.
Studies have shown that there is a link between food security, performance in the classroom, and obesity. If this issue is not faced head on, America will have a generation of children not fully prepared for the workforce and high health insurance rates due to obesity health issues. In providing help to people who find themselves in food insecure households, people can be found who are skeptical of their true need. One of the biggest myths of the disadvantaged is that they have poor shopping habits or shop in convenience stores where prices are extremely high compared to those in grocery stores. Another myth is that in America, the land of plenty, those that cannot afford food are lazy or cheats.... ...
What is somewhat alarming is that about half the hungry children in Solano County are in families who are 185 percent of the poverty line.This means that parents of these children earn too much money to qualify for most federal nutrition programs, including the school lunch program.Even as the demand for charitable food help increases, federal food programs are failing to serve eligible, hungry families. Bureaucratic hassles and the stigma of receiving assistance prevent people from getting the help they need. Federal food programs—if fully utilized—are essential for fighting hunger in Solano
“More than a third of the county's children are overweight or obese.”(Gustin, 1). As shocking as this is, it's true. One of the big reasons that children and teens are overweight is because of the foods that they eat. They are fed these fattening and unhealthy foods by the school system. Their futures can be changed if we change our choices. Having more nutritious lunches can have a positive impact on the health of American teens.
students’ performance. Serving hearty food at lunch is a step in the right direction for the
According to the Centers for Disease Control, “Childhood obesity has more than doubled in children and quadrupled in adolescents in the past 30 years,” meaning that America’s children need to start eating healthier, including healthier school lunches. The National School Lunch Act is a fairly recent addition to American society. For, as the world waged war a second time, the United States began to worry about the strength and health of the country’s soldiers. However, in the beginning, selling excess agricultural goods was more important than building a healthy, well-balanced meal for students. Unfortunately, many children coming from poorer families could not afford well-balanced school lunches, so in order to compensate, the School Lunch Program changed its focus to help these students. This program, however, decreased schools’ lunch budgets, and schools had a hard time keeping up with the amount of free meals they had to provide, so they came up with some extra ways to increase revenue. However, in a small town in Massachusetts, one chef makes a difference in the health of the school lunch students eat each day, and proves that hiring a trained chef to cook real, healthy meals can increase profit. Unfortunately, that is not the case in most schools across the nation. The quality of health of the food being served in school lunches is extremely poor and was allowed to decline even more with a new set of rule changes. However, there are some improvements currently being made to increase the quality of health of the food being served to students, including teaching them all about food and its nutritional information, both good and bad. In order for students to eat healthier lunches at school, the USDA needs to implement healthier ...
Education plays a dominant role in the lives of students all over the United States. Since most students spend roughly eight to twelve hours in school, it is important to make sure that they are provided with a healthy and nutritious breakfast, lunch and snack.
Generally speaking, there are many factors that affect children’s behavior. One of the factors is health. Health is a general condition of a person’s mind and body that determines the quality of life, thus will affect a child’s behavior if not properly taken care of. One of the daily needs, food, can bring a negative impact from skipping meals especially breakfast which is essential to fuel the body to start the day. Often, there are reports from teacher where children who skipped breakfast are less attentive and having discipline problems in class (Warilla Women's Refuge, 2013). Studies had shown that children who have meals regularly on time can absorb information better than those who do not (Johns, 2009). Another cause that had long...
Children who eat from the national school lunch program are not receiving healthy foods. “Worldwide there are now more than 40 million overweight or obese children below the age of five” (Lang pg. 64). ”In most schools, the fare is a mix of chicken nuggets, tator tots, canned fruits and vegetables, chocolate milk that contains more sugar than soda, corn dogs and pizza pockets, Cheap food that cost less than a dollar a day” (Cooper pg. 25). Sugary foods cause students to sleep in class, students tend to go for the sugary and unhealthy food when they receive their lunch tray. Children are the people most affected by the chemicals used to produce and process food. They eat more foods than adults, which means that antibiotic and hormone residues in their foods collect in greater concentrations in their bodies. In addition, kids are eating foods that are unhealthy leading to addiction. "American children are increasingly enduring obesity and general...
Students learn and do their best when they are hungry, and uncomfortable! That makes perfect sense right? If you’re like most Americans, this may be one of the most ridiculous statements you have ever heard. I know I have never done anything better hungry. Many students sit through their lunch time at school because they have no food to eat because they don’t have the money to afford it, or they are not able to bring food from home for various reasons. This is why many schools have free and reduced lunch programs. But not everybody can apply for these programs; even middle class families in today’s economy sometimes can’t give their child cash every day. Times are tough, and every family is different. These are good programs, but they are not good enough. One child missing a meal, and going hungry is too many in my book. That’s why I think it should be at least a state law in North Carolina, if not a federal law, that offers free lunch in all public schools for all students, regardless of income. This way it’s simple, cost effective and easy, and nobody will be singled out, or go hungry if they do not bring their lunch from home.
Many of these children only get a full meal while having their school lunch, so many of these children go hungry the rest of the day.
Breakfast is one of the best ways to recharge your batteries. It is a perfect time to boost your energy. Studies also suggest that eating a healthy breakfast improves brain function particularly memory and recall. This is essential for soaking up new knowledge and applying it later for a big test. Research shows that eating a healthy breakfast improves one academically. Scientists believe it may be because breakfast supplies nutrients to the nervous system to rev up brain power. Breakfast skippers tend to weigh more than those who eat breakfast regularly. Also, those who eat a morning meal tend to make healthier food choices throughout the day, which can positively impact weight and long-term health. Encourage eating breakfast daily at home or school and make it easy and
Every morning when I wake up the first thought in my mind is usually: FOOD! I often lie in bed for a few extra minutes, planning out what I am going to eat for breakfast. Seldom as I go through this routine do I stop to think about those who are less fortunate than me. I often take for granted that everyone wakes up and eats breakfast. But this is far from true, not everyone shares the luxuries that we have in the United States. Some people wake up and wonder if they will eat at all that day, let alone eat breakfast. Why? Because food, like many other things, is unequally distributed throughout the world.
Breakfast is touted the most important meal of the day. Unfortunately, a lot of kids start the day with the wrong kind of breakfast – one filled with sugar. Cereals might seem like the easy solution, but they definitely aren’t a health food.
School lunches leave students with limited options, leaving no room for improvement in the fight for childhood obesity that one in three children suffer from. (8) Having the same, repetitive, items that are high in fat, sugar, preservatives, and additives(1) increase chances of cardiovascular disease and type 2 diabetes in students to name a few.(2) Even with the additional ameliorates directly from the White House, they only affect federally funded schools, excluding private schools. (4) With these weaknesses in our school lunch system, reform is definitely needed to conquer these common issues.