School Lunches

Emmelyn F.

 

 

Child obesity was skyrocketing, and everyone was worried about the health of the newest generation. The “mystery meat” in the lunchroom was less regulated than the meat in fast food places. Of the vegetables eaten by kids, one third was potatoes. In 2010, this all changed.

The Healthy, Hunger-Free Kids Act of 2010 managed to change school lunches for the better. Although the infamous legacy of school lunches never was shaken, lunches were now healthier, and ketchup was no longer a vegetable. Banning trans fats and requiring fresh produce in school lunches was the newest development since the mid-1900s. The cheese puffs and ice cream cups were taken away, and in their place remained pretzel sticks and apple slices.  From 2003 to 2012, child obesity rates were down 40%.

Kids with healthier school lunches have about a four point higher average on tests than kids without as much nutrition, a study stated. Kids can benefit from these new lunches, but the prices on lunches were now higher, and the food was less appetizing.

We took a sample of 67 seventh graders from Farnsworth Middle School. About two out of five kids bought school lunches; out of those 27 kids, 24 said they disliked some or all of the meals.   Seven kids complained about the lack of variety in school lunches and how they should be allowed to pick their own vegetables. In the lunch system, you are given a vegetable based on whatever meal you had that day; you can’t choose.  Five kids complained about the ingredients that weren’t very fresh, two of them joking about the food actually being rubber.

Fruits given to kids could easily pass as desserts; they were being hidden in gelatin or syrup, and they tasted like high fructose wood. The vegetables are raw, nothing being done to make them in the slightest more palatable. Although rules have been passed to ensure more fruits and vegetables make it onto the plates of kids, it isn’t likely they will even want to eat them.

Researchers of the School of Vermont found that many kids were throwing away their healthier lunches. Food waste went up more than 50%, and most of that was the fruits and vegetables the schools were forcing on their plates. If these fruits and vegetables were presented in a more appealing way, more food would make its way into kids’ stomachs instead of trash cans.

“We can do a tremendous amount of good for kids across the country if we change school lunches,” says Ann Cooper, an author, teacher and chef. Hopefully, by making these fruits and vegetables more enticing, serving them cooked or with dips, more kids will buy more lunches and help quash the rising obesity rates. School lunch regulations were last changed 11 years ago; it’s about time we update them again.