School Lunches Research Paper

Over 30.3 million kids in the U.S. alone eat free or reduced price school lunches, these lunches were meant to keep kids full and happy through the day but that might not be the case anymore. Millions of kids go to school every day and a big part of the day is when the students are able to eat lunch and socialize, but a problem not many people think about at school plagues the lunch room. Schools offer many different assortments of foods, including the high processed and fatty foods and snacks that not only can cause health problems, but can cause kids to feel sluggish throughout the day. School lunches need to include more organic and locally grown options instead of the highly processed foods currently served, because the it does not provide

Eating a nutritious diet and eating locally, sustainable foods provides not only benefits to your body, but to the farms, animals, and the environment, for example, “When cattle, chickens. and other animals eat grass - and not just corn or other grains - they are actually healthier for us to eat. So is the milk or eggs that come from grass-fed animals... Green grass has large quantities of beta-carotene, vitamin E, and folic acid. These natural chemicals are important for a healthy diet.” (Pollan 197-198) Eating locally sustained food provides not only multiple health benefits to our bodies such as vitamins and minerals, but the animals are also eating what they were meant to which allows for a healthier cow, therefore a healthier meal we eat. Although most schools do try to offer healthier options, kids do not have to take them and would rather take the chip bag sitting next to the apple, for instance, “Schools must offer dairy, grains, fruits, and vegetables, but there are no programs to make sure that children are eating them.... Unhealthy foods usually lack the nutrients that children need to stay energized and focus throughout the rest of the day.

Although limiting the amount of junk food in school would help better nutrition opponents argue that taking away these options would decrease the revenue made by the school, “Critics of rules banning junk food in schools say that they cut off valuable sources of revenue. The income generated by vending machines supports activities such as music, sports and field trips, they note. As an example, they cite the experience of the Seattle, Washington, school district, which implemented a nutrition policy in 2004. Schools in that district, which had previously received $340,000 a year from Coca-Cola as part of an exclusive contract, found themselves without revenue that they had used to fund school yearbooks and newspapers, and activities such as dances, they note.” (Seaton) By removing junk food from schools, schools lose a big part of their revenue. A school in Washington made $340,000 a year from Coca-Cola, but when they added a