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Imagine that you are a gardener, and you want your sapling to grow into a big tree. You need to put efforts into it by providing sufficient nutrients and water on a regular basis. This is the same theory that applies to children in our nation. The school meal nutrition issue has caught the eye of the government, and it is well discussed in the nation. Although many people debate if the government should involve in the school lunch issues, the government has already made some regulations on the nutrition of public school meals and it should consider educating children about healthy diets as well.
It took a long time for the government to recognize that providing school meals is necessary, and this program significantly influences the life of students. In 1946, President Truman signed the National School Lunch Act to permit the National Lunch Program. Before this act was effective, many poor children suffered hunger in schools because they did not have money to buy lunches. The government notices the fact that children are nutritionally unbalanced has become apparent (Gunderson). This program is particularly created for children from low income families, in order to end hunger in school, so these children receive lunch for free. It was a benefit for many people throughout the country at the time, and it continues now.
People who think parents should prepare lunches for their children forget to regard the family condition in many cases. Julie Gunlock, who is the Director of the Culture of Alarmism project at the Independent Women’s Forum, argues that the government should not intervene in school lunch regulation because parents have responsibilities to feed their children. Although she consists of various research results in her ...
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Conklin, Martha T., PhD,RD, Laurel G. Lambert, PhD,RD,LD, and
Janet B. Anderson, MS, RD. "How Long Does it Take Students to Eat Lunch? A Summary of Three Studies." School Nutrition Association. N.p., n.d. Web. 02 Nov. 2013.
Gunderson, Gordon W. "National School Lunch Program (NSLP)." USDA. N.p., n.d. Web. 01 Nov. 2013.
Gunlock, Julie. "School Lunch: Should the Government Be Feeding Schoolchildren Lunch? (Debate)." Independent Women's Forum. N.p., 12 Dec. 2012. Web.
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Nixon, Ron. "New Rules for School Meals Aim at Reducing Obesity."
The New York Times. The New York Times, 25 Jan. 2012. Web. 13 Oct. 2013.
Thompson, Carolyn. "Some School Districts Quit Healthier Lunch Program." USA Today. Gannett, 28 Aug. 2013. Web. 31 Oct. 2013.
Zelman, Kathleen M., MPH, RD, LD. "Slow Down, You Eat Too Fast." WebMD. WebMD, n.d. Web. 03 Nov. 2013.
Necessity of Nutritious School Lunches Mental and physical wellbeing are known to directly affect one another . Therefore, if a school’s obligation to its students is to provide a quality education for all, then it would naturally make sense to provide quality nutrition as well. This has led to a discussion on the necessity of nutritional lunches provided by schools. Many see the need for healthy nutrition throughout the school day. However, there is evidence that shows that school children often throw
The National School Lunch Program serves over 30,000,000 children across the nation, in comparison to the School Breakfast Program which serves around 11 million kids each day.1 For many, these two meals may be the only healthy meals they eat all day. Proper nutrition has the power to make or break a child’s development. Often, children who lack proper nutrition have trouble focusing in school. Research shows that children who eat a nutritious meal everyday tend to excel more in school than their counterparts
daily school meal provides a strong incentive to send children to school and keep them there,” ( World Food Programme). Where do most schools get their food from and why? We are facing problems with our school lunches because not everyone is receiving the nutrition they need and in some countries a school meal is the only nutritious meal they eat. Where are schools around the world getting there food from? Kids around the world are not gaining the nutrition they need. “In some countries, school meals
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. Unfortunately, in today’s society, school administrators focus heavily on standardized test scores and school rankings thus adding more pressure on students and teachers. This being said, schools have begun to focus on providing healthy foods because they help increase a person’s cognitive and critical thinking
¨A report shows that fast food restaurants have stricter food standards then the school lunch programs¨(Peter Eisler). Everyday students go to lunch not knowing what the consequences are from eating the food provided for them. Schools have the obligation to provide a healthy lunch for students, they will see the academics improve, it is better for the students health, and the growth of obesity is increasing. Eating a healthy lunch during school will increase the student's academics. Nutrition plays
“only 6% of the school lunch programs meet the nutritional requirements established by the United States Department of Agriculture” (“Three Facts About School Lunches”). A typical school lunch has about 980 calories and 48 grams of fat, almost half of the amount that children should eat in a whole day (“Three Facts About School Lunches”). Paying attention in class is hard enough, and eating an unhealthy lunch only slows down the students’ performance. Serving hearty food at lunch is a
The health of students is very important. Schools should feed students healthy and nutritious foods. Schools should not be serving students fried potato items such as french fries. Schools should not serve fried foods in general. Fried foods are very bad for the health of the children and adults. Schools should be supporting healthy eating. Since most kids eat about half of their meals at school and for many of children these meals are all they will get in a day. “There are more than 32 million
The kind of food you eat helps your body decide when you die, young or old (Stockland). Would you want your child to eat foods to shorten his or her lifespan every day at school? Many schools serve frozen foods almost every day at lunch. This is because frozen meals are cheaper, they require less work, and these food choices don’t use many additives. Schools should serve healthier food for lunch because it helps the students to concentrate better, healthy food lifts student’s mood, and the rate of
this increase parents, schools, the media, fast food restaurants? Regardless of who is to blame we need to focus on the problem and in ways to help decrease childhood obesity. It is cheaper to buy foods that are not very nutritious because they are cheaper than healthier foods, plus they taste better. Children will choose the food that they know taste better but if we teach them to eat right we will make them choose the food that is better for their health. Most schools around the country don’t
particularly in our schools. A huge factor is what we feed our students junk for breakfast and lunch. Research shows that school lunches are highly concentrated in salt, sugar, and unsaturated fat. Elementary, middle and high schools are over populated with vending machines, school stores and snack bars (Snelling). It is not uncommon for a student
Over the past few decades food has took a drastic plunge towards unknown ingredients and chemicals. Most of society would agree that children are the future but surprising statistics make that hard to believe; they cannot become the future if they are being fed to death. Jamie Oliver and Ann Cooper are two of many chefs who are working hard to educate people about real food. Lectures given by each of them send the overall message that the future of humanity is within the food we are eating. Jamie Oliver’s
Imagine would it be like waking up each morning, unaware of where the next meal will come from. One in six kids face hunger every day in the United States. According to the US Department of Agriculture, over 13 million kids under eighteen years of age live in homes with families who do not regularly have enough food to eat (¨Kids in America¨). There is an overwhelmingly high number of hungry children living in all communities around the country, including Anderson, and something has to be done to
School Nutrition “New School lunch standards implemented as a result of First Lady Michelle Obama’s anti-obesity campaign have led to more than 1 million children leaving the lunch line, according to a new report.” (Elizabeth Harrington 3). Because of The Healthy and Hunger-Free Kids Act “ New meals are required to offer a whole grain,protein,fat free or low fat milk, fruits and vegetables”(Arit John 10). Even if the government regulates school lunches to prevent obesity and diabetes, the
Introduction Proper nutrition in children can have extreme affects on children when it comes to education. When a child is able to eat healthy meals daily, it helps them to learn, grow, and succeed in the classroom. In the United States, 1 in 6 children do not know where their next meal is coming from. Food insecurity is a major problem in the United States and is not going away anytime soon. Children in food-insecure homes are more likely to have behavioral problems, repeat grades, and have lower
is one of the leading barriers to children receiving an education. When children come to school hungry, they have trouble paying attention, see the school nurse frequently complaining of head and stomach aches, and display behavioral problems. Even in developed nations like the United States, 1 in 5 children experienced food insecurity at some point in 2013 (CTDB, 2014). The National School Lunch Program (NSLP) is one of the largest safety nets for these children. The NSLP is a federally funded program