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Food Position Project - Jordan Leighton
- 2. What is the National School Lunch program? National School Lunch Program (NSLP) Federally assisted meal program, in public, nonprofit private schools and childcare institutions Signed into Law in 1946 by Harry Truman
- 3. What is the issue? Are school lunches healthy? School lunch is critical to the health and well-being of children, especially for low income students. Is the school lunch food nutritious or contributing to obesity?
- 4. Who is involved? NSLP: National School Lunch Program USDA: United States Department of Agriculture FNS: Food and Nutrition Service SNAP: Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program
- 5. Concerns School lunches are extremely over processed. School is where children go to learn. Teaching poor nutrition is also a lesson. There are not many/ if any healthy meal options that look appealing or appetizing.
- 6. Nutrition Standards for School Meals Trump Administration proposed changes to school meal and snack standards The rule would relax some of the requirements that the USDA has in place Trump Administration states that the rule would make it it easier for schools to serve more students if As of Monday April 14, 2020 a federal court shut down the Trump Administration’s rollback of nutrition guidelines for the national school lunch program.
- 7. What has been done so far Healthy Hunger- Free Kids Act "Lets Move" campaign Smart Snacks in School “The Meal Pattern” Working to increase the availability of fresh produce in schools
- 8. Potential Solutions The USDA should increase nutritional standards Change the menu to healthier options Raise public awareness
- 9. School lunches affecting obesity More than one in three middle school students who regularly eat school lunches are obese or overweight School lunches can cause children to have high levels of LDL “bad” cholesterol opposed to kids who bring lunch from home One in three children would develop diabetes School lunch food teaches kids to make bad choices which shapes their eating and exercise habits as they become older
- 10. Final Stance The health and well being of children should be taken more seriously More strict regulations need to be put in place including all school systems and childcare facilities being held to the same standard Less sodium and processed foods More real foods-mostly plants More fresh fruits, vegetables, whole grains and lean proteins
- 11. References Allassan, F. (2020, April 14). Court blocks Trump's rollback of school lunch standards championed by Michelle Obama. Retrieved from https://www.axios.com/trump-school-lunches-michelle-obama-851fd47f-33f5-416a-b829- 45890974a7ab.html Burns, R., Poitevint, B., Crumley, M., Humphrey, N., & WALB News Team. (2020, March 24). FOOD: Area schools issue meal guidelines. Retrieved from https://www.walb.com/2020/03/16/area-schools-issue-meal-guidelines/ Casey, J. (n.d.). Healthy School Lunches. Retrieved from https://www.webmd.com/diet/features/healthy-lunches- healthy-students#1 Crawford, E. (2020, March 18). Proposal to simplify school meals could 'put children's health and education at risk,' research finds. Retrieved from https://www.foodnavigator-usa.com/Article/2020/03/18/Proposal-to-simplify-school- meals-could-put-children-s-health-and-education-at-risk-research-finds Duret, D. (2020, April 9). Free school lunch programs face terrible choice: Fight coronavirus or students' hunger. Retrieved from https://www.usatoday.com/story/news/education/2020/04/03/coronavirus-free-school-lunch-grab-and-go- delivery/5114622002/
- 12. References Fadulu, L. (2020, January 17). Trump Targets Michelle Obama's School Nutrition Guidelines on Her Birthday. Retrieved from https://www.nytimes.com/2020/01/17/us/politics/michelle-obama-school-nutrition-trump.html Hormone Health Network. "Pediatric Obesity | Endocrine Society." Hormone.org, Endocrine Society, 27 February 2020. https://www.hormone.org/diseases-and-conditions/pediatric-obesity Johnson, M. (2020, April 14). Court blocks Trump administration rollback of some school nutrition standards. Retrieved from https://thehill.com/regulation/court-battles/492650-court-vacates-trump-administration-rollback-of-some-school- nutrition Laino, C. (2010, March 15). School Lunches Linked to Kids' Obesity. Retrieved from https://www.webmd.com/children/news/20100315/school-lunches-linked-to-kids-obesity#1 MyPlate partner title Become a MyPlate partner! (n.d.). Retrieved from https://www.choosemyplate.gov/ Turner, C. (2020, February 19). Food Fight: How 2 Trump Proposals Could Bite Into School Lunch. Retrieved from https://www.npr.org/2020/02/19/806155521/food-fight-how-2-trump-proposals-could-bite-into-school-lunch
Editor's Notes
- The National School Lunch Program, also known as (NSLP) first started in 1946 when President Harry Truman signed it into law under the Richard B. Russell National School Lunch act. Over the years, the National School Lunch Program has grown tremendously. For example, the United States Department of Agriculture shows that in the first year about 7.1 million children participated in the NSLP. Since then, the program has continued to grow while helping many children in need. In 2016 30.4 million children nationwide participated in eating school breakfast and or lunches. Since then the numbers have only continued to rise.
- There has been a lot of work done so far to improve the quality of school lunch food, but there is still much more work to be done. School meals should include more fruits and vegetables as well as whole grains, lean protein and low fat milk or water. Currently, school food has far too much sodium (most schools exceeding the recommended 500 milligrams of sodium) and unnesacery fats. It is important that we realize that while some students bring their own breakfast/lunch to school each day others are not so fortunate. Low income families often times qualify for free or reduced school lunch, but the food they are being given is not healthy. School lunches have been shown to increase the risk of chronic disease in children. These children depend on school breakfast and lunch everyday and, without it, would be going hungry.
- There are multiple organizations and departments involved in the school lunch program. The National School Lunch Program is also known as NSLP. The United States Department of Agriculture (USDA) plays an important role and provides for food safety regulations pertaining to agriculture. Food and Nutrition Services (FNS) provides training and assistance to the school nutrition professionals. Their role is to work hard to increase the availability of fresh produce to provide the school systems as well as low income elementary schools with the fruits and vegetables they are lacking from getting at home. Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program (SNAP) is a way to provide food for families in need. If a family participates in any federal assistance programs the child will automatically qualify for free school meals.
- School lunches are very over-processed, making them much more unhealthy than natural foods. In school, you learn in all different subjects to prepare for the future; shouldn’t healthy eating be a subject and practiced in school? Currently, there aren’t too many healthy options for kids to pick from, making it difficult to practice healthy lifestyle habits.
- The Trump Administration proposed changes to school meal and snack standards. The proposed standard reductions violated the APA regulations. The district court of Maryland decided that the reduction of standards violated the APA. Executive Director Anne Harkavy said in a statement, “The rollback encouraged more sodium levels in meals and could jeopardize the children's access to the nutritious foods they need to stay healthy” (Johnson, 2020).
- The Healthy Hunger-Free Kids Act was signed into law in December 2010. This idea behind this bill was to remove candy and soda machines from schools and replace pizza, burgers, hot dogs etc. with healthier alternatives such as fruits, veggies and salad bars. Michelle Obama created the lets move campaign to raise awareness about the health risks and problems associated with childhood obesity. According to the School Nutrition Association, smart snacks in school standards took effect July 1, 2014. This idea required that the USDA created nutrition standards for snacks and beverages sold in schools. They have also incorporated another standard called ”The Meal Pattern.” This is a way to incorporate balanced meals while making sure that there is a good balance of fruits, veggies, low-fat or fat free milk, whole grains and lean protein served with every meal. The Food and Nutrition Service is working hard to try to provide as many fresh fruits and vegetables as possible to the different school systems.
- Some potential solutions are working with the USDA to increase the nutritional standards for schools. Changing these will open the door for other options for kids. This starts with people becoming aware of the issues, and what impact the current situation can have on their kids futures.
- As we know, the food that children are eating at school has a large impact on the rising number of overweight children. According to Webmd, “The choices they make then will shape their eating and exercise habits as they get older.”
- After doing this research, I still believe that the food provided by to children in school systems as well as childcare facilities has lots of work to be done. One in three children are suffering each year nationwide from obesity in relation to eating school food. I am convinced that the work here is not done. There are so many people that care about the healthy and wellness of children who are in school. I recognize that this will not be a quick or an easy fix and that by making school food more healthy it does come with a cost. As we know, nutrient dense food is not cheap, but there is no reason that children should be eating processed hot dogs, hamburgers, chicken patty sandwiches etc. on a daily basis. Parents and school committees must take a stand and recognize what is going into their children or students bodies. By feeding children two out of their three meals at school that is packed with sugar, fats and carbohydrates is not helping them but only hurting them. Regulation of the National School Lunch program should be taken a step further in order to keep individuals safe and able to learn at school like they are there to do.