Bring or buy?

By: Brad Tripp

It’s 11:45a.m and the bell rings.  Students from what seems like nowhere appear, their eyes wide, mouths watering, and all they want is food. They grab a cafeteria tray and the food is now within inches of their fingers. The food is then paid for and consumed. What did they just buy? How healthy was it? Is the American lunch program good or bad? Here’s a look:

 

History:

In 1946, the 79^th U.S Congress started to look more closely at the things public schools needed, like equipment and food to feed the students. According to the United States’ Department of Agriculture, this is when President Harry Truman put into effect the National School Lunch Program. The take off of this program was slow, but it was eventually authorized by Congress and any equipment, food or space needed would be provided to feed the students (if the school hadn’t the funds for it). In some cases, this is still in effect, but requires pay back.

Nutrition:

How good is the food being served to the students today? According to the Massachusetts Department of Secondary and Elementary Education, “all food brought in for the school lunch program must meet all federal requirements in order to be served in schools.” The most current dietary guidelines for Americans instruct that the food served in schools includes no more than 30% of our dietary fats be saturated and 10% unsaturated fats and no more than 30% of your daily protein, vitamin C, vitamin A, protein, calcium and calories.

Changes:

As time has moved on, what changes have we seen in the lunch programs? These changes include better nutrition and meal size in school lunches. However, many think the proportions aren’t big enough. Why is this? Michelle Obama has worked to put in place guidelines for school lunches nationwide, which will try to save money and still provide proper nutrition. Included with this, schools were only to serve diet sodas. This is because it helps to limit fats and sugar and, hopefully, aid in combatting childhood obesity.  Some schools are just ignoring this program, claiming that it is unworkable. According to newsmax.com, some schools are beginning to lose money trying to meet the new guidelines, so they’re resorting back to the old means of feeding the students.

Bring or Buy?:

So, should lunches be brought or bought? This depends if the person is getting the nutrition and fullness they desire. For instance, it’s better to bring for more food, nutrition and control over what is consumed. However, this may not be the most cost effective means of lunch. The average price of a school lunch ranges from free to $3.00 a day. It can be tough to spend less than that if you’re bringing your own food.

 

 Some lunches may not look so good, but they do meet standards of the federal government. Whether you prefer this or making your own lunch, it’s your decision.