Healthy, Hunger-Free Kids Act Of 2010

I. Introduction

With one third of American children being overweight or obese, schools are now implementing healthier school meals (Frisk, 2015). In fact, the Healthy, Hunger-Free Kids Act of 2010 requires schools to serve more nutritious foods such as more fruits and vegetables (Frisk, 2015). I understand why schools and parents are striving to produce healthier school meals because good nutrition promotes health and learning. However, providing students healthier food and beverages does not necessarily mean that they will eat the foods given to them. According to a research, $1,238,846,400 of food is discarded by students annually (Cohen, Richardson, Austin, Economos, & Rimm, 2013). When choosing what to eat, people usually pick their favorite foods that is tasty and appealing. Thus, if the school lunch offered is not the type of food students want to eat, then they will just throw it away. Implementing healthier school foods is a waste of the program’s money. Moreover, serving healthy school foods on a strict budget is very challenging. Healthier foods tend to be more expensive. Because schools cannot afford such expenses, schools will be forced to increase the food prices. According to a survey by the School Nutrition Association, 58 percent of schools reported a decline in participation of the school lunch program because of the cost of school lunch increased (Heavner, 2015). Even with healthier school foods, if students do not buy school lunch then it is a lost cause.

Context

We can all agree that every school has its student’s best interest at heart. In the end, the goal is to improve student’s eating habits. Therefore, schools should not remove all foods that are less nutritious or force students to eat healthier. Instead, schools should provide more food options and simply rearrange items that are currently offered. By making healthier schools food more appealing, students will buy more of the nutritional