The Importance Of Lunch In School

“Children who eat lunches at school are five times more likely to eat a minimum of two servings of a fatty food, like fried chicken” (Gaille). As 30 million kids walk through the lunch lines everyday, they are no longer served greasy pizza and french fries. They are offered a more healthy meal thanks to the Healthy, Hunger-Free Kids Act (Murphy). This has resulted in meals being lower in fat, calories and sodium and also contain more fruits, vegetables and proteins. Consequently, kids just aren’t having it. Allowing students to leave school campus for lunch enables them to practice responsibility, makes sure they will actually eat lunch, and ensures they receive enough food. The main purpose of school is to teach students how to be upstanding, respective members of society. How are are those students supposed to achieve this

According to Aravelo, “Children who don’t eat lunch at school and spend long hours with an empty stomach tend to snack more when they return home and eat larger dinners… Many children don’t eat breakfast either, making their first meal at home after returning from school”. Tuft University Center on Hunger, Poverty and Nutrition shows that child hunger can reach out to other parts of their life, importantly their development in learning. Their study proved that there is a link between malnutrition and learning development, showing evidence that the brain’s ability to learn can be negatively impacted when necessary nutrition isn’t available. When a child has food insecurities, the body will prioritize the small intake of food and how it will apply it to the functions of the body. Energy from food is often first applied to major organs such as the heart and lungs, and after that is used for growth. Social interaction and cognitive growth are the last things the body focuses on, so children without proper nutrition will most likely experience delays in these