Junk Lunch In Public Schools

Is the school lunch program actually helping? Is junk food the cause of obesity? The food program, which requires that schools have to follow strict rules on what they can serve at lunch, currently has 94% of public schools participating but some are considering dropping out. Even though the program is healthier, schools should drop out of the system because schools are losing money, every student does not require the same amount of calories, and junk food isn't the only reason for obesity.

The school lunch program is not a financially smart decision for the school. In a year 2015 study, Researchers suggest that children are not buying school lunch as much. This is leading to a drop in revenue for the school. The school can get money from the state, but the donation is not a lot. Super attendant Teresa Snyder says that the district lost $30,000 in revenue during the first quarter of the school year. Therefore, participating in this program may cause a drop in revenue due to students not buying lunch as often. And this can lead to problems with buying seats or other classroom items for the school.

Researcher David Just and others say “Banning the sale of soda and junk foods lead to students drinking and eating them at home more often.”Obviously the food the program uses is healthier, but the same researchers have seen that children who transferred to schools that banned junk food still had no effect on their weight. This suggests that banning the sale of junk food may cause them to eat more of it at home, so the lunch may be healthier but it doesn’t help students eat healthy at home. The amount of exercise you get also contributes to your weight gain so if you don't get enough you will gain weight