School Lunch Affordability in Lincoln Problem Description: Many families in the United States struggle to afford school lunches for their children. According to the Education Data Initiative, children who can’t afford proper meals, and therefore lack access to food, are considered food insecure. School lunch debt statistics collected by the Education Data Initiative indicate that 30.4 million students can’t afford their school meals. The national public school meal debt is $262 million a year. Here in Nebraska, the school meal debt is $14,876,022 (Hanson, 2024). As stated by the poverty guidelines for 2024, families of 5 that make less than $36,580 a year are considered to be in poverty (Poverty Guidelines, 2024). An article from The Guardian …show more content…
Students within 185% are eligible for reduced-price meals. Every other student pays full price (Nowell, 2023). A significant issue with this system is that even families who don’t qualify for free or reduced lunch can struggle to afford them. According to the Education Data Initiative, many of the children who have school lunch debt are from families that earn too much to qualify for free or reduced lunch but aren’t able to afford traditional-priced meals with their annual income (Hanson, 2024). This statement shows the significance of being unable to pay for school lunches by displaying that it isn’t just lower-income families that struggle to pay for school meals. Even if students qualify to receive free or reduced meals, they might feel embarrassed to utilize those programs because of the stigma around it, for example, appearing poor to their peers. During the COVID-19 Pandemic, the USDA was able to provide free meals to all public-school students. However, that practice ended after the pandemic. According to an article from AP News, now only 8 states have free school meals for all students (Karnowski & Bryan, …show more content…
Universal Free Meals (UFM) can increase test scores and school lunch participation for both poor and non-poor students. School lunch participation increases academic performance in both math and English language arts. “UFM increases test scores by 0.08 standard deviations in math and 0.07 standard deviations in ELA” (Schwartz, A. E., & Rothbart, M. W. 2020). New York City let all students eat breakfast for free in 2003 but increased the price of school lunches for the students without free or reduced lunches. Low participation during school meals can be caused by many factors. “First, students who do not have a lot of money can be more sensitive to school breakfast than school lunch” (Leos-Urbel, J., Schwartz, A. E., Weinstein, M., & Corcoran, S. 2013). Some families are not able to pay for both meals, especially if they have multiple children, even with reduced meal prices. Second, children may be hesitant to participate because they view school meals as being ‘just for poor kids’. Third, school meals are not super appealing because of the rules to make them with high nutritional standards and their low quality because they feed lots of children in short amounts of time. Some schools have fast food restaurants and vending machines available for lunch, and that can rival healthy school meal options. Lastly, breakfast is normally served before classes start, so it requires students
Janet Poppendieck is a professor of sociology at Hunter College in New York, and is the author of several books, including her most recent Free for All: Fixing School Food in America. This book centers on America’s recent interest in whether or not our school lunches are healthy. This issue has been put into the spotlight recently through shows such as Jamie Oliver’s School Food Revolution and in the news because of recent changes in the Nation School Lunch Program’s dietary guidelines. Poppendieck’s book looks at the in depth reasons why school lunches have turned into what they are today, what challenges need to be faced in order to fix school lunches, and ultimately how the system should be fixed. She accomplishes this by interviewing her current college students about their previous school lunch experiences, working in a school cafeteria, interviewing current school employees, and looking at the history and policies of the National School Lunch Program.
Though proponents of this method argue that it has lowered meal debt and the amount of families failing to pay, Stacy Koltiska refutes this claim by saying: “[The ones making these policies] are suits at a board meeting… They are not the ones facing a child and looking them in the eye and taking their food away.” While it is irrefutable that debt in schools is a problem that must be tackled, it is not a justifiable excuse to take a child’s midday meal out of his or her hands and throw it into a trash can because his or her parents can not put money into their child’s lunch account. There is no excuse for denying a child a hot meal or making them go hungry during the school day for something that is not their fault. Their dietary and nutritional needs are not a bargaining tool for the school system to use under any
According to the “Hunger and Poverty Fact Sheet” on Feeding America’s website, in 2014 there were over 48 million Americans living in food insecure households, which included 15 million children. During the school year, these children rely on free or reduce breakfast and lunch. When the summer vacation months arrive, these children loose the security of these meals. Feeding America, working alongside the United States Department of Agriculture, provide free summer meals to these children. Unfortunately, not all children and families are aware that these programs are taking place; therefore missing out on a vital resource to help stretch their food dollars throughout the summer
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
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...
Since the beginning of time, schools were always a place we could trust. A place where we could send our kid(s) off to without worry of what they may be learning, doing, or eating, but perhaps we should be. As the craving of fast food is growing, so is the demand for it. Some schools have taken advantage of this and brought fast food into their schools, providing it for lunch. A high school in California serves McDonald’s, Subway, and even Quiznos to their students for lunch (Lehmann). The school claims the kids are more likely to buy school food when they see brand foods (n.p.). Schools get money from the National School Lunch Program for every meal they serve, but that money from the government only covers so much (n.p.). To pay the rest of the lunch staff, facilities costs, and food, schools turn to the money they make by selling lunches and breakfast to their students (n.p.). Another school in California has even tried to mimic Round Table, a brand name pizza in their area, with healthier ingredients, but was only able to sell 250-300; when they sold Round T...
Food insecurity is an issue faced by millions of Americans every day, and the biggest group affected by this is working families with children. Food insecurity is so big that the United States government has now recognized it and provided a definition for it. The United States government has defined food insecurity as “a household level economic and social condition of limited or uncertain access to adequate food” (USDA.gov). Food banks and anti-hunger advocates agree that some of the causes of food insecurity are stagnant wages, increase in housing costs, unemployment, and inflation of the cost of food. These factors have caused food banks to see a change in the groups of people needing assistance. Doug O’Brien, director of public policy and research at Chicago-based Second Harvest says “’we’ve seen a real shift in who we serve. A decade ago, it was almost always homeless, single men and chronic substance abusers. Now we have children and working families at soup kitchens’” (Koch). These families that are feeling the effects of food insecurity will not be only ones affected by it, but all of America. Studies have shown that there is a link between food security, performance in the classroom, and obesity. If this issue is not faced head on, America will have a generation of children not fully prepared for the workforce and high health insurance rates due to obesity health issues.
“Our Schools need to start teaching kids how to be healthy.”- Unknown. School lunches have created a chronic problem in a school setting, and since it hasn't been fixed, 6-11 year olds have had a 17% increased chance of becoming obese (Centers for Disease control and Prevention). Most school districts don't even bother changing the food restrictions just so they can please their students. Unhealthy school lunches are a huge problem among children in the United States, it can cause obesity, stress, and many other problems.
“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.
President Harry Truman initiated The School Lunch Program (NSLP) in 1946, it was established under the National School Lunch Act. The program provides nutritionally balanced, low‐cost lunches to more than 32 million boys and girls each school day.The NSLP ensures the nutrition,portion, and safety of our children food, over the years do to the rise of childhood obesity the The USDA School Lunch Program is constantly evolving to meet the needs of our youth. Many concerned citizens, such as Eric schlosser author of Fast Food Nation believes that the USDA is not providing our children with the right nourishment. Many parents are taking it into their own hand and creating and joining advocacy groups. It is crucial that our youth receive nutrient
States could require schools to serve healthier and more affordable meals than they currently are. They could have meals that all had the recommended amounts of grains, fruits, vegetables and protein for children. They could also ensure that it would be cheap for students to eat wh...
With the implementation of the “Healthy Kids Hunger-Free Act” schools are not serving as many lunches and participation is decreasing. According to the Government Accountability Office (GOA), “Nationwide, student participation declined by 1.2 million students(or 3.7 percent) from school year 2010-2011 through school year 2012-2013, after having increased steadily for many years”(sec. 1). The school lunches became more distasteful and bland; the combinations of foods did not make sense, and the portion sizes decreased significantly. In order to support the cafeteria
Much of the research examining the federally sponsored USDA breakfast program shows that the benefits of participation greatly outweigh the drawbacks. Some of the benefits include assurance for students and others concerned, an increased awareness in the students during the school day, and significant influences in the student’s behaviors. The assumption that the students are wasting money due to lack of participation, may pose as a drawback, although research shows differently. This author wishes to recommend that district X participates in a USDA sponsored Federal School Breakfast Program.
Students learn and do their best when they are hungry, and uncomfortable! That makes perfect sense right? If you’re like most Americans, this may be one of the most ridiculous statements you have ever heard. I know I have never done anything better hungry. Many students sit through their lunch time at school because they have no food to eat because they don’t have the money to afford it, or they are not able to bring food from home for various reasons. This is why many schools have free and reduced lunch programs. But not everybody can apply for these programs; even middle class families in today’s economy sometimes can’t give their child cash every day. Times are tough, and every family is different. These are good programs, but they are not good enough. One child missing a meal, and going hungry is too many in my book. That’s why I think it should be at least a state law in North Carolina, if not a federal law, that offers free lunch in all public schools for all students, regardless of income. This way it’s simple, cost effective and easy, and nobody will be singled out, or go hungry if they do not bring their lunch from home.
In exploring my behaviors that have an effect on my life, it was surprising to hear what my family and peers noticed that I would have never thought about. I mentioned the time spent on social media, my phone, and how my constant need to keep everything clean and organized are behaviors that play a significant role in my life. My family and peers mentioned they see patterns of perfectionism in almost every aspect of my life. Some mentioned how I am picky about cleanliness but more surprisingly was my sister’s answer, where she explains how I am always in a hurry. She described it as living a fast-paced life where I cannot stop because there is too much to do.