School Lunch Program History

484 Words1 Page

Briefly summarize the history of the School Lunch Program. When and why did it begin?
The School Lunch Program was first initiated under Section 32 of the Agriculture Act passed in 1935. The law outlined which programs would receive donations of surplus USDA foods, which include but is not limited to: schools, non-profit summer camps, and needy families. It was not until after World War II that the National School Lunch Program was fully developed under the National School Lunch Act of 1946. Signed into power by President Truman, the act provided federal cash support for the nation’s school lunches, as during WWII, the USDA was only able to ship a limited amount of food to schools due to food shortages and transportation issues.
What concerns about school lunches are raised in the video? What barriers to change exist? …show more content…

For instance, in the beginning of the video, the episode documented that children were consuming pizza for breakfast, eating mash potatoes made from potato pellets from a bag, and choosing not to consume the healthier options, such as 2% or fat-free milk, as well as throwing away their untouched fruits. The episode also documented the short term and long term health detriments the lunches could have on the children if they continue to eat that way, even proclaiming that generation is projected to not live as long as their parents. However, there are many barriers that stand in the way of altering school lunches that are difficult to amend. For example, the rules set in place by the USDA are quite rigid and convoluted with guidelines that must be followed precisely. Even then, most of the staff workers in the cafeteria are adamant in their ways and are unwilling to

Show More
Related

  • Review of Free For All: Fixing School Food in America by Janet Poppendieck

    1672 Words  | 4 Pages

    Overall, this book was a very eye-opening read that I would suggest to everyone especially those that want to see school lunches evolve into something awesome not only for children but also for agriculture. After reading this book, I am ready to get out there and try to pursue change in the school lunch system so that my children’s generation can go to school knowing that they will be fed right, responsibly, and without fear of being stigmatized.

    Read More

  • Analysis Of Fed Up By Stephanie Soechtig

    761 Words  | 2 Pages

    This documentary takes a look at how our school’s lunch programs and government play a role in the spread of obesity across the nation. The film really attempts to drive home the idea that our children are being immorally brainwashed into wanting unhealthy foods. At some points of the film, it appears that the director uses big companies and school lunches as a scapegoat for our nations crisis. It is a valid point that our nation’s children are being

    Read More

  • The Pros And Cons Of The Healthy Hunger Free Kids Act

    708 Words  | 2 Pages

    Schools are spending too much money with this program that could be spent on other benefits for schools. Rather than using the money to get students new technology or property it 's wasted on a lunch program that students do not enjoy nor want to purchase. In the Article, “School Lunch Food is Not Fresh, Students Say” Journalist Audrey Levine interviews high school students about they feel about their school lunches. “It’s way too expensive now, but I’m still buying,” said senior Stephanie Huang. “And I don’t think more people are bringing lunch because

    Read More

  • School Lunches In Ted Talk: Changing School Lunches

    988 Words  | 2 Pages

    has to spend more money on changing school lunch system from eliminating unnecessary spending portion of system and create farming class. As reported by Cooper, “ The National School Lunch Program needs 8 billion dollars to feed 30 million children a year to serve high quality foods.” However, this price of amount has to be double to serve healthy foods to students because our next generation has to grow up with high quality foods not with low quality foods. Moreover, according to Cooper, the U.S. spends more than 100 million dollars on fast foods portion which the U.S. suppose to spend less amount of money on fast foods to improve the entire food system of the country. If the U.S. government lower the expense of fast food system and raises the amount of money for school lunches, entire schools of the U.S. would get positive results. For example, students could brainstorm very fast as Albert Einstein, and gain more energy to work out on their gym classes. Furthermore, school have to create agriculture class for students to have strong knowledges in foods. Students can literally be ware of what they eat at their lunch times; they will know vegetables grow in the ground and how foods are really fresh. Therefore, schools must provide farming class as in Berkeley; students have rights to know how foods are important to them. As a result, students could get a lot of benefits for changing school

    Read More

  • Michelle Obama's Healthy School Lunch Guidelines

    1039 Words  | 3 Pages

    As discussed throughout this paper there has been controversy about Michelle Obama’s school lunch guidelines. The reader has heard multiple arguments developed from this topic from each viewpoint expressed in this dispute. Now it is up to them to take a side.This paper is about Michelle Obama’s school lunch guidelines and how they are affecting schools and students across the nation. To help reduce the number of overweight children in America, Michelle Obama made lunch regulations schools had to follow and sparked a widespread conflict.

    Read More

  • Obesity in Texas Children

    1141 Words  | 3 Pages

    Allowing healthier school lunches will decrease obesity in children because it will give them the proper nutrition to reduce the risk of health issues. Since obesity causes many health issues, maintaining a proper nutrition will reduce the risk of health issues. According to Star- Telegram, a daily newspaper that serves Fort Worth and areas of North Texas states, “[School lunches that have] a meal of pizza sticks, a banana, raisins and whole milk has given way to whole wheat spaghetti with meat sauce, a whole wheat roll green beans, broccoli, cauliflower, kiwi and low-fat milk … This change will help more than 2.4 million Texas students who receive a free or reduced- price school lunch to lead healthier, more active lives—in and out of the classroom”(Par. 2 and 4). School lunches are supposed to guarantee students a well balance meal, so they can have the energy to proceed with their classes throughout the day. Meanwhile, students who receive a f...

    Read More

  • School Lunch Research Paper

    590 Words  | 2 Pages

    One reason our school should get a new lunch menu is many students do not like the food served. For example, a survey was taken and of the 31 students 100% said they disliked the food. As student Bryan Huang said, “The lunches are horrible, they need better choices and more choices.” In other words, the food is not delicious and there are not many choices. Also, when children don’t get proper nutrition they have trouble focusing in school. Most students do not buy lunch because they feel it is unappealing and do not like the food served. Many students go to other kids and ask for food. In addition, many students do not eat breakfast so they rely on lunch to fuel them for the day. But, if they do not like the food served they won’t eat so they starve for the rest of the school day, which can

    Read More

  • School Lunches

    2067 Words  | 5 Pages

    “More than a third of the county's children are overweight or obese.”(Gustin, 1). As shocking as this is, it's true. One of the big reasons that children and teens are overweight is because of the foods that they eat. They are fed these fattening and unhealthy foods by the school system. Their futures can be changed if we change our choices. Having more nutritious lunches can have a positive impact on the health of American teens.

    Read More

  • Persuasive Essay On School Lunch Reform

    847 Words  | 2 Pages

    We cannot have a school lunch reform where the needs of all students are not met. If only some, or less than the majority, of students are receiving the nutritional values they need, we need to adapt the reform to further achieve better standards for school lunch programs. For example, after a student finishes their meal, schools could offer a second serving of protein to their students. In effect, this will add a higher amount of calories to the students’ daily diets.

    Read More

  • Argumentative Essay On School Lunches

    1760 Words  | 4 Pages

    before the Healthy Hunger-Free Kids Act of 2010, school lunches tasted terrible to me and I

    Read More

  • Improving Nutrition in School Lunches

    2005 Words  | 5 Pages

    "National School Lunch Act." Poverty and the Government in America: A Historical Encyclopedia. Santa Barbara: ABC-CLIO, 2009. Credo Reference. Web. 21 January 2014.

    Read More

  • Stereotypes Portrayed In Super-Size Me

    1176 Words  | 3 Pages

    One school that he visited only had one in six meals that were actually cooked, and not frozen and reheated. Kids would only be eating french fries or a cookie, and the staff was only left to assume that the purchased food was a side order. Serving fast food in schools could potentially get them addicted to fast food, leading to further unhealthy choices. The documentary also explores the eating habits of another school in Wisconsin, this one for troubled kids. They have a very healthy menu, called “All-Natural Ovens” that promotes healthy eating. I think this is a good strategy, however, I think our school has, in my opinion, an even better one. Our kitchens do serve what can be classified as fast food, but also serve a lot of salads and sandwiches. There’s a wide variety to choose from, and I think that’s a good thing. It takes a lot of strength to have a strictly healthy diet, never eating anything bad, but takes even greater strength to have a bit of unhealthy food every once in a while. For me at least, the placement of the temptation of food is very hard for me to overcome. It’s a good lesson for kids to have to learn to make choices based on their own lifestyles, to determine how much they need to eat based on their own needs, and to have a little junk food every once in awhile, but not let it overtake you. The healthy options are all there,

    Read More

  • Persuasive Essay On School Lunch Programs

    1163 Words  | 3 Pages

    Do you remember your favorite “School Lunch”? I do, I essentially had two favorites; pizza and hamburgers with fries. Think back, wasn’t there at least one school lunch that the lunch ladies made that everyone was so excited to eat. Kids that habitually brought their super hero lunch box with thermos would leave it at home and be in line for pizza or burgers and fries. We could also go back for “seconds”, it was the best meal of the week including what was served at home. The federal government has been involved in the NSLP (National School Lunch Program) since 1946 with the implementation of the National School Lunch Act. These initial programs developed the commodity distribution program for schools, institutions, needy households, summer

    Read More

  • School Breakfast Programs

    1105 Words  | 3 Pages

    The United States Department of Agriculture, (USDA), prioritizes school breakfast (Coles, 2000). The School Breakfast Program was just introduced in 1966. When introduced, the program was a temporary measure through the Child Nutrition Act of 1966. The basis for the implementation of this program was to accommodate children in areas where they had long bus rides to school and in areas where many mothers were in the work force.

    Read More

  • Having a Good Nutrition in School

    1575 Words  | 4 Pages

    While learning does not end when school is out, neither does the need for good nutrition (“Benefits”, n.d.). Good nutrition is very beneficial to children, especially school age children. Not only does it provide nutritional benefits to help with their growth process, it also enhances their learning process. Senate Bill 89 (SB 89), passed in the 83rd regular session, ensure that low income children acquire free meals in the summer when school is not in session. Although, SB 89 ensures nutritious meals for children in the summer, the bill does not go far enough. The bill failed to take into account the following; transportation issues, the number of days the program operates weekly and the statutory requirement that only school districts with fifty percent (50%) or more of their students qualifying for the free and reduced lunch program are required to implement the program. Besides the above listed problems, the implementation of the bill faces a major barrier to participation and lack of awareness.

    Read More

More about School Lunch Program History

Open Document