School Lunches: Budget vs. Health
The school lunch. One of the most commonly discussed and criticized aspects of a student’s day, at least from their own perspective. Even at the high school level, it is inevitable that most days a student will ask me “What is for lunch today?” and then either celebrate joyously or hang their head in despair. In my experience, it is more often the latter.
School lunches are indeed a major issue in the education world, with no easy way to get the job done. The simple part is that we have to feed students. We are teaching them all day, and they need to eat. That part is non-negotiable. The complex part of a school lunch is feeding a lot of people every day, and hopefully doing it well (healthily).
Our government has been trying. Michelle Obama created a program that was designed to make school lunches healthier. But, as most people have found out in their private lives, eating healthy costs more than eating unhealthy foods does.
The other problem with the “Michelle Obama” program is that students don’t like it, and are eating less of it. This comes from either throwing the healthy options away, or from just bringing in their own lunches from home. So as an unexpected side effect of the bill, school food companies have actually lost money while serving less children.
Which is why lawmakers are trying to change the law and loosen the restrictions on what can be sold. They have made a decision that schools need to be feeding children. Schools need to be able to provide healthy alternatives for students who want them, but also be able to make sure students eat something.
I think in an ideal world, all students should eat healthy. I think I should also only eat healthy. But some students and families may not see it that way, or may not feel like it every day. Which is why schools need to focus on creating popular lunches, rather than just focusing on strictly healthy. It is what the families want so they can be sure that their child is eating something, rather than throwing away an apple every day.
