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 districts would receive for their participation.
Thus, school districts that choose to take part in the lunch program get cash subsidies and USDA foods from the U.S. Department of Agriculture for each meal they serve. In order to receive the subsidies, schools must serve lunches that meet Federal requirements, be consistent with the Dietary Guidelines for Americans, and they must offer free or reduced price lunches to eligible children (USDA). The Healthy, Hunger-Free Kids Act included several requirements aimed at improving the quality of school lunch for children in the U.S. One important requirement called for the U.S. Department of Agriculture (USDA) to issue new school meal nutrition standards that are consistent with the Dietary Guidelines for Americans.
In January 2012, USDA issued the new standards which increased the amount of fruits and vegetables served, stresses whole grain-rich foods, requires only lower fat and nonfat milk, limits calories, and reduces saturated fat and sodium. These...
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...income family’s that might not be able to provide nutritious healthy meals at home or meals in general due to their family’s financial situation.
Works Cited
United States Department of Agriculture Food and Nutrition Service. “National School Lunch Program (NSLP).” Web. 31 Oct 2013. http://www.fns.usda.gov/nslp/national-school-lunch-program
FRAC Food Research and Action Center. “National School Lunch Program.” Web. 31 Oct 2013. http://frac.org/federal-foodnutrition-programs/national-school-lunch-program/
ElementarySchools.org. 2013. Web. 25 Oct 2013. http://elementaryschools.org/schools/37423/charles-f-johnson-jr-elementary-school.html
High-Schools.com. 2013. Web. 25 Oct 2013. http://high-schools.com/schools/17780/union-endicott-high-school.html
Public School Review. 2013. Web. 26 Oct 2013. http://www.publicschoolreview.com/school_ov/school_id/54611
Overall, this book was a very eye-opening read that I would suggest to everyone especially those that want to see school lunches evolve into something awesome not only for children but also for agriculture. After reading this book, I am ready to get out there and try to pursue change in the school lunch system so that my children’s generation can go to school knowing that they will be fed right, responsibly, and without fear of being stigmatized.
Schools are spending too much money with this program that could be spent on other benefits for schools. Rather than using the money to get students new technology or property it 's wasted on a lunch program that students do not enjoy nor want to purchase. In the Article, “School Lunch Food is Not Fresh, Students Say” Journalist Audrey Levine interviews high school students about they feel about their school lunches. “It’s way too expensive now, but I’m still buying,” said senior Stephanie Huang. “And I don’t think more people are bringing lunch because
The Indiana School Breakfast and Lunch Program is a program open to those children who live in a low income household. “National School Lunch Program (NSLP) is a Federal entitlement program open to public and nonprofit private schools and residential child care institutions. Lunch is available to all children at participating schools, and the meals must meet specific nutritional requirements to receive Federal funds (Indiana Department of Education, 2013). This Program is open to those who reside in Indiana and who are a parent or guardian of a child who in school, and does not continue beyond high school. This program has requirements that deal with the level of household income. The household income requirements deal with the household income before taxes have been taken out. If there is a household of one person, they cannot make more than $21,257; a person in a two person household cannot make more than $28,694. This scale continues all the way to that a household of eight cannot make more than $73,316 (Indiana Department of Education, 2013).
Gunderson, Gordon W. "National School Lunch Program (NSLP)." Food and Nutrition Service. N.p., n.d. Web. 29 Apr. 2014.
National School Lunch Program (NSLP). (n.d.). Food and Nutrition Service. Retrieved November 4, 2013, from http://www.fns.usda.gov/nslp/national-school-lunch-program
Kuczynski-Brown, Alex. "School Lunch Calorie Maximums Protested By Students As House Republicans Introduce Bill To Repeal USDA Rules." The Huffington Post. TheHuffingtonPost.com, 18 Sept. 2012. Web. 26 Apr. 2014.
“Our Schools need to start teaching kids how to be healthy.”- Unknown. School lunches have created a chronic problem in a school setting, and since it hasn't been fixed, 6-11 year olds have had a 17% increased chance of becoming obese (Centers for Disease control and Prevention). Most school districts don't even bother changing the food restrictions just so they can please their students. Unhealthy school lunches are a huge problem among children in the United States, it can cause obesity, stress, and many other problems.
“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.
We cannot have a school lunch reform where the needs of all students are not met. If only some, or less than the majority, of students are receiving the nutritional values they need, we need to adapt the reform to further achieve better standards for school lunch programs. For example, after a student finishes their meal, schools could offer a second serving of protein to their students. In effect, this will add a higher amount of calories to the students’ daily diets.
This is not the first time the U.S. has faced problems with the health of the nation. In 1946, President Harry S. Truman signed the National School Lunch Act. This legislation came in response to claims that many American men were rejected for military service due to diet related health issues. School lunch was established as “a measure of national security, to safeguard the health and well-being of the nation’s children and to encourage the domestic consumption of nutritious agricultural commodities and other food (Gunderson, 2013).”
"National School Lunch Act." Poverty and the Government in America: A Historical Encyclopedia. Santa Barbara: ABC-CLIO, 2009. Credo Reference. Web. 21 January 2014.
The Web. 23 Jan. 2014. United States Department of Agriculture. The "School Meals" Child Nutrition Programs -. USDA, 23 Dec. 2013.
Tanaka, N., & Miyoshi, M. (2012). School lunch program for health promotion among children in Japan. Asia Pacific Journal of Clinical Nutrition, 21(1), 155–158.
Lunch is one of the most important meals of the day and is consumed mostly in school cafeterias for children and adolescence. Wholesome lunches are vital in maintaining a healthy metabolism and give children energy for the rest of the school day. Children are advised to eat healthily but do not always do so because the choices of tastier, fatty foods offered in school cafeterias. The National School Lunch Program, NSLP, which is a federally assisted meal program operating in public and nonprofit private schools set nutritious guidelines for lunches served in school cafeterias (USDA). However, school campuses still offer foods high in fat as well as selling candy, chips, and soda in their vending machines, as well as their school shops. In order
Do you remember your favorite “School Lunch”? I do, I essentially had two favorites; pizza and hamburgers with fries. Think back, wasn’t there at least one school lunch that the lunch ladies made that everyone was so excited to eat. Kids that habitually brought their super hero lunch box with thermos would leave it at home and be in line for pizza or burgers and fries. We could also go back for “seconds”, it was the best meal of the week including what was served at home. The federal government has been involved in the NSLP (National School Lunch Program) since 1946 with the implementation of the National School Lunch Act. These initial programs developed the commodity distribution program for schools, institutions, needy households, summer