Healthier School Lunches

Have you ever wandered into your school cafeteria, starving and looking forward to a good meal, just to find a mound of glop on your tray? Have you ever wanted to gag from eating supposedly “Whole Wheat” chicken nuggets? Have you ever felt the unpleasant sensation of biting into a rubbery hot dog? Well I have, and many days I have skipped lunch because of what was served. For countless reasons, students should be given the option of eating healthy, appetizing food. To begin with, too many children throughout the united states that attend public schools are overweight. According to the CDC (Centers for Disease Control and Prevention), in 2008, more than one-third of children and adolescents were overweight or obese. Our school lunches are full of saturated fats and refined sugars, which causes all of these problems.

Some kids from low income families’ only meal is lunch at school. If it’s the only thing a child eats all day, it should be healthy. Along with the problem of obesity, what students are eating in school is causing them diseases. The food schools buy are cheaper, but that comes at a price. In the United States, over 215,000 people under the age of twenty suffer from diabetes, according to diabetes.

org. Not only is the rate of diabetes growing, but the CDC also states that for every 100,000 people in the U.S., twenty-two people die from diabetes. Is this really necessary? Healthier school lunches would help prevent this disease, and save countless lives. Finally, nutrition is important for good learning at school.

In an article written by Shereen Jegtvig, a writer with a Masters degree in nutrition, she states that “eating a healthy lunch will help keep your child’s mind sharp and ready to learn all afternoon”. One high school in Wisconsin replaced their low quality lunches with healthy, fresh, foods and water as their main beverage. Improved behavior and zero truancies was their result. I know for a fact that I feel better and more focused when I eat a filling, nutritious meal. So why don`t we change our school lunches? Clearly, healthy and nutritious foods should be added to our school’s lunch menu. It will prevent sickness and death, as well as help our students succeed.

Other schools have done something about what they eat, so now it’s our turn. Lets make the our school a better place!