School lunches have always been a part of every student’s day, this break gives them a boost of energy in a long day of school. Students use this time to eat in the cafeteria or they will instead choose to hang around school. Some students will prefer to walk around school because they are not fond of the available lunch or because of other circumstances such as not being able to buy food or because of the long line to get food.
Students accruing debt to public schools was a common strange occurrence that later became the accepted norm. Children would go hungry at school and resort to the “sharing table”(a table where unwanted food goes) when their families didn't have the means to pay for their breakfast or lunch or did not fill out the
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Alyssa Wells, an elementary school teacher, noticed her students behavior shift following the implementation of California’s Universal Meal Program in 2022. “The kids are eating way more and they’re more focused, eager to learn and they’re just happier,” Wells noted, “they’ve got one less thing to worry about.” Daniela Solis, a single mother to an elementary school student, spoke of the program’s benefits to her son. “It gives all students access to adequate and nutritious food at school, as it should have always been,” Solis stated. Sarah Medellin, a parent with two daughters in elementary school, says the program made it so her daughters could get nutritious foods without having to expend her time or resources; “sometimes there’s no time for breakfast and sometimes by the second week of the month I’m short on money to buy healthy stuff,” she remarked. School lunches offer a safety net for parents, and make nutrition …show more content…
The amount of nutrition a student consumes all depends on what foods are provided for them. Since the HHK Act was implemented, it was shown that the nutrient density (food that’s high in nutrients but low in calories) increased from 58.7 before the implementation of HHK Act to 75.6. It’s measured by mean adequacy ratio which is a measure that is used to evaluate an individual's nutrient intake that is ideal and appropriate for their sex and age. This act primarily consisted of low income, racial/ ethnic minority students who were eligable for free reduced lunch prices. The outcome of this act was that there was an improvement of nutritional quality of foods selected by students, but no significant difference in the participation of