I reviewed Lessons from the Lunchroom: Childhood Obesity, School Lunch, and the Way to a Healthier Future by Lindsey Haynes-Maslow and Jeffrey O’Hara and The $11 Trillion Reward by also Jeffrey O’Hara.
Lessons from the Lunchroom is about how improving the health of food provided in the federal school system would improve the health of school-age children. A key point is that for Children in socioeconomically disadvantaged families, the healthy food options served in a school lunch are often the only chance they get to consume nutritious food.
Another point is that kids ate more fruit and vegetables overall if a wide range of different produce was offered. The last point that stuck out to me was that school lunches may add an additional
…show more content…
They also recommend that schools exceed the minimum fruit and vegetable requirements in school lunches to increase consumptions as well as be offered as snacks at school. (Haynes-Maslow, O’Hara 2015)
I thought this paper was important because healthy eating habits are formed when young. If school aged children are taught to eat produce with every meal they will be more inclined to practice the same habit when older, therefore ensuring an overall healthier life. It saddens me that children of socioeconomically challenged families often rely on solely school lunch to eat fruits and vegetable. Fortunately, taxpayer actually want their money to go towards improving the federal school lunch program.
The $11 Trillion Reward was about how much America’s economy would save in healthcare and other externality cost to diet related health issues if Americans ate healthier. Three key points were that even small dietary adjustments could save America money, almost 100,000 cardiovascular-related mortalities could have been prevented and that eating more fruits and veggies could save Americans approximately $17 billion dollars in medical bills. (O’Hara
“The school lunch program, begun in the 1970s as a result of bipartisan federal legislation, has been by most measures an enormous success. For lots of poor families it’s become a way to count on at least getting one decent meal into their children, and when it disappears it’s catastrophic,” (page 224) In the essay “Schools out for the Summer” Quindlen writes about the problem of hunger in the USA.
“The success of the school lunch lunch program
The author's opinion on school lunch guidelines is they are not working. The purpose of the article is to convince readers that the school lunch isn’t helping, and some evidence to prove it is” this month we visited a school in Suburban Chicago and found a shocking 46 boxes of pears in the trash” said Jim Allvol. This shows that the purpose of the article is to convince readers that the school lunch isn’t helping, and the school lunch guidelines are not working. Another piece of evidence to prove this is “ Schools tell us that they have seen a 50% increase in lunchroom trash.” said Kay McKeen. This shows that it doesn't work or meet the school guidelines and it doesn't help to fight obesity and Jim opinion was
Radley Balko’s essay “What You Eat Is Your Business, in They Say, I Say, the author argues that the government should take more targeted initiatives in dealing with obesity. Within the last 15 years, the United States government has implemented numerous laws and initiatives to try to make America healthy again. However, are they working? The daily lives of Americans seem to revolve around food, whether it be eating healthy and following the food pyramid, or on the other end of the spectrum, eating fast food for every meal and snacking on junk food. There are larger issues that the government could be handling, yet they choose this obesity epidemic over pressing day-to-day problems.
During President Nixon’s term he strengthened the school lunch subsidy program up to 25 million children. Subsidies were given to school districts to make sure that every child was fed at lunch time. Jimmy Carter and Ronald Reagan both made cuts into the National School Lunch Act that led to school districts having less money to spend on lunches. This was in line with their party’s political stance which was to lessen the central government. The lower amount of money led to a decrease in nutritious food and an increase in processed food meaning higher caloric and sodium intake for children across the
As Jamie Oliver begins to deliver his presentation, there was a certain feeling inside of me that wondered where his speech was leading. He begins to talk and move simultaneously and I felt the passion being delivered by his body language and the tone of his voice. Jamie put every effort into ensuring that his listeners understood exactly what his intention were as he constantly talked about his passion for a nation providing consumers with a healthy selection of food products and schools educating the children with a knowledge of healthy food choices. He communicated in understandable terms the disgusting health condition and diseases that American citizen; industry profoundly advertise unhealthy food choice as if it is healthy for the
By serving fruits and vegetables, it helps prevent health problems and promotes healthy eating habits. “Studies show most kids have grown to like the new, healthier options” (William Rice, 1). This sentence proved that kids can like the new healthier lunches standards. That also means that it not just healthy for children, it is effective . Healthy school lunches benefit education which is a great reason to agree with healthier school lunches
Determining the healthiness of food being served to students during school lunches is a very important subject. Although eating healthy is important it should not be the only factor contributing to whether or not taking away students favorite school lunches is beneficial. I don't believe that it is a good idea to take away students favorite school lunches and replacing them with all healthy foods is a good idea because of these three reasons. One, the cost of the healthier food, two, the student environment and mood of the school, and three, the fairness to the students whose only meal is the lunch they receive at school.
Corcoran theorizes that “[s]tudents who eat regular, healthy meals are less likely to be tired, are more attentive in class, and retain more information” (4). Furthermore, Anderson assures that “when schools serve calorie-rich food on test day, students perform better on tests.” (4). Anderson’s claims of fact and claims of policy convey a persuasive tone as she finds ways to bolster elementary students’ physical and mental
In some schools some principals superintendents have made a decision to opt out of the Healthy choice foods and make there own semi-healthy foods that kids like. To reduce waste and bring back students who have opted to pack a lunch or go off campus for fast food, his districts cafeterias have installed stir-fry stations with abundant vegetables so students can have meals made to order. and he’s added spice bars so kids can even the bland. In schools some principals and administrators are starting to take action.
In the year 2010, President Barack Obama and the First Lady Michelle Obama created the “Hunger-Free Kids Act” of 2010, which has created problems among students. In the year 2012, Michelle Obama also created the “Let’s Move Campaign” in order to reduce childhood obesity, and to give students access to healthy food in their school lunches. The “Hunger-Free Kids Act” means that no student should go hungry, and the “Let’s Move Campaign” makes the lunches healthier. Unfortunately, due to the quality and quantity of the meals that the students now receive, more kids are refusing to eat school lunches, and remain hungry during school hours. Not only does this outrage students, it also infuriates parents, teachers and staff as well.
To begin with, the taste alone of school lunches is beyond unsatisfactory. The meals provided by public schools are not appetizing. There exists a tangible disconnect between the enticing, nutritious meals advertised on the school board’s menus and what the students actually receive—pathetic portions and lukewarm meals slapped onto a tray. Children’s complaints about school lunches are often seen as trite. However, while common, they are not any less accurate.
Schools could make more money if they sold good tasting food, even if it was not healthy. They make money with the healthy chips, drinks, and the lunch food, so imagine how much more money they could make if they switched back. Students would pay a little extra money for better food at the lunch room. With the money they make from switching foods, they could use for newer things to help students learn better. Students could all be better educated just because they switched foods and drinks over.
The importance of this issue is significant because all the food being wasted daily totals about 4 million dollars in the U.S. The Durango Herald says honestly “Not surprisingly, American kids, whether pressed for time or just grossed out, leave much of their meals untouched; particularly neglected are the fruits and vegetables, which they are now forced to put on their trays before they can exit the cafeteria line.” This tremendous waste can be stopped but only if we abolish the Healthy Hunger Free Kids
And they will bring there own lunch from home which will not bring in much profit because of the healthier school lunches. Another example on this topic is that most students will disapprove of this new healthier lunch menu and try to get it changed back to the old school lunches