Poor Funding, Poor Nutrition: The Obesity Epidemic in Our Schools

“The Weight of the Nation,” an HBO production, provided an eye-opening perspective into the role that schools play in addressing the childhood obesity epidemic. In the video, they put a Madison school in the spotlight—Hamilton Middle school. Not only did this production highlight the nutritional deficiency of school lunches, but they also brought to light the struggle schools face in delivering healthy choices to children while operating on meager budgets. While I believe it is easy to blame schools for our children’s nutritional deficiency, I think the lack of funding of our public schools is largely to blame for the poor quality of foods that are currently being provided.

With school-food representing 40–50% of every child’s daily caloric intake, funding of nutritional programs for public schools is crucial to fighting the obesity epidemic(HBO). One USDA study found that 94% of schools served lunch that failed to meet USDA standards for healthy school meals (HBO). This should come as no surprise to residents of Wisconsin, where state republicans cut per pupil spending by 15.3%, making WI among 14 states where per pupil spending remains 10% lower than before the economic recession (WSJ, 2014). What’s more, President Obama’s 2010 Healthy Hunger Free Kids Act that developed higher nutrition standards in schools met its match with corporate special interests. These special interests, including potato lobbyists, swayed Congress to limit this act, classifying pizza and French fries as acceptable vegetables (HBO).

While funding to education continues to remain dismal, hope can be found in school-based intervention programs. Evidence shows school-based nutritional education interventions are effective in reducing the BMI in children (Silveira et al, 2013). One school has taken matters into their own hands, contracting local farmers to providing fresh and affordable produce for their students. In the video, “Chilton’s Farm to School Transformation,” administrators demonstrated just how effective a farm to table program is in ensuring children make and have healthy choices for meals. Not only is this school district able to provide healthier grass-fed beef, but fresh produce form farmers in the community.