End the school lunch stigma with better food
Lunch time. Ironwood Ridge High School.
The middle meal, the one that brings everyone together and the best part of the school day, starts with cards being scanned and trays filled with food. Once everyone is seated, students stare at their plates, questioning of the food starts to fill the room. You no longer feel hungry, and you toss the plate in the trash. You’re left with one carton of milk. Staring at the more fortunate students’ sack lunches, you can’t help but wonder when your next meal will be.
That noon-1 p.m. sweet spot isn’t as savory or satisfying for others.
Many students assume school lunch is a “gross” alternative to sack lunches or buying a meal somewhere else. The victims of these assumptions are the students who rely on free school lunch, or buy them because of the limited alternatives they have.
Although food insecurity is addressed in both schools and communities worldwide, there is a silent and long epidemic of meal shaming. Meal shaming is the judging of others based on what they’re eating. This situation in particular is the shaming of school meals by peers.
According to The Center for American Progress, 9.3 million children across the U.S. are food insecure. School lunches have been a crutch many of those children could lean on because of the free options for people who could not afford a meal on their own. So why has there been such a stereotype on school food, and what are the effects of food shaming?
There have been many claims by students surrounding the freshness, healthiest, and flavor of the meals being provided. From word of mouth to photos posted on the internet, many instances of unhealthy and unappetizing school lunch have been displayed for both students and parents to see.
This results in the plaguing avoidance of school provided meals. Vending machines, snack bars, and pre-packaged lunches have taken the place of traditional lunch, and school meals have become a last resort for those willing to risk embarrassment.
It is instances like this that prevent children getting the food they need, and silently desire. The attention on providing more nutritious and savory meals have shifted to providing alternatives for those who refuse to eat at school, leaving the other students embarrassed and with unhealthy meals.
Food shaming can have lasting effects not only on the school food, but the students who choose not to eat lunch because of the shunning that comes with it.
Many middle and high schools are using a loophole to feed kids junk foods like chips, soda and ice cream. Food not connected to pre-planned meals has much fewer health restrictions and, therefore, are worse for you than hot lunches.
According to the United States Department of Agriculture, 30 million children rely on price-reduced lunch. It is crucial to not leave those children behind as the country tackles food insecurity.
Instead of burying the nutritional reduced lunch as a thing of the past, more steps should be taken to improve the quality of the school meals. Doing so will tear down the walls of food shaming.
