What Is The Problem With The National School Lunch Program
The Problem with the National School Lunch Program
The National School Lunch Program began the year after the second World War. During the war, many draftees were not able to enlist, because they repeatedly failed their health exams, due to malnourishment. This caused the government to realize that the general population were not receiving enough nutrition. This realization is what led to the development of the idea for The National School Lunch Program, that was put into effect in 1946. This program made it so students were able to eat food surpluses that Congress had allowed the government to purchase (Hiemstra). The NSLP has evolved throughout the years, and now school lunches are readily available for everyone. However, The National School …show more content…
Lunch Program has not been accepted by everyone and has been a topic for debate for quite some time. From when it first started in 1946 to now in 2017. While it is a free program available for all students, many do not participate. The main cause of this lack of participation is due to the low-quality food that makes up school lunches. In order to obtain higher quality food, the program will need to increase their funds and scheduled lunch times.
With new regulations put in to make school lunches healthier, many would assume that means better quality food is what will be served.
However, when a kitchen at an elementary school in Washington was observed it was discovered that “‘fresh cooked’ does not mean ‘from scratch’ or even ‘fresh ingredients,’” a majority of the meals being served were “made from processed foods that have been precooked and frozen” (Bruske). Due to the fact that the food is precooked and frozen, the meals are normally steamed before being served. According to Bruske’s observations this has led to once “gleaming” vegetables to become “limp and drab”, and even become “completely disintegrated”. It is no wonder that students are not participating in this program. No one would like to eat food that is described in this way. This low-quality food is why many students would rather not eat. Cedric Bonsol, a junior who attends Bravo high school in Los Angeles said, “’Sometimes, I don't eat because I don't like it’" (Lin). This school meals are not up to par, and that is why so many students do eat the school provided lunches. If the schools started serving better quality food than what they are serving now, more students would likely begin to participate in the National School Lunch …show more content…
Program.
Since a majority of the schools have to “squeeze school meals into tight local food budgets” they are not able to buy higher quality food (Bruske).
The best way to stop the need to “squeeze” is by increasing the school lunch budget. A way to accomplish this could be done by borrowing elements from how the school lunch programs are in other places. For instance, Japan’s lunch program is set up so that “"municipalities pay for labor costs, but parents—billed monthly—pay for the ingredients, about $3 per meal, with reduced and free options for poorer families,"” (Woldow). This way more money is going into the budget, but there are still options for those who cannot afford it. If the National School Lunch Program were to take elements from them, like billing for the quality ingredients, then more students would participate. This would cause the NSLP to not be able to give free lunches for everyone, but with the fact that food is not being eaten anyway it might cause incentive to eat lunch. This way quality food can be afforded, and the National School Lunch Program will be able to have more
success.
Many school have an incredibly short scheduled time to prepare food and eat. A member of the Los Angeles Unified, Binkle, claims the serving food in the school cafeteria is similar to “a restaurant trying to serve 2,000 meals in 20 minutes” (Lin). He claims “"If you had 40 minutes, then we'd only have to prepare half and serve half at a time," he said. "You get much higher-quality food, you get much fresher food”” (Lin). This makes sense, because the more time you have to prepare the meal, the higher the chance you have of making the food better than if you were in a rush. With more time, there is more care put into the food. This will increase food quality, and encourage students to participate in the lunch program.
In order for The National School Lunch Program to obtain high quality food, they will need to have an augmented budget and a longer lunch time. It is important for student to take advantage of the lunch program. This way they can eat every day, and nothing is wasted. These possible solutions could be the key to success for the National School Lunch Program. This program should be important for parents, students, and the government. This program is funded by the people, so they should be able to reap the benefits of it. If things continue the way they are, money and food will continue to be wasted, and the students who need this program will be let down.
The National School Lunch Program began the year after the second World War. During the war, many draftees were not able to enlist, because they repeatedly failed their health exams, due to malnourishment. This caused the government to realize that the general population were not receiving enough nutrition. This realization is what led to the development of the idea for The National School Lunch Program, that was put into effect in 1946. This program made it so students were able to eat food surpluses that Congress had allowed the government to purchase (Hiemstra). The NSLP has evolved throughout the years, and now school lunches are readily available for everyone. However, The National School …show more content…
Lunch Program has not been accepted by everyone and has been a topic for debate for quite some time. From when it first started in 1946 to now in 2017. While it is a free program available for all students, many do not participate. The main cause of this lack of participation is due to the low-quality food that makes up school lunches. In order to obtain higher quality food, the program will need to increase their funds and scheduled lunch times.
With new regulations put in to make school lunches healthier, many would assume that means better quality food is what will be served.
However, when a kitchen at an elementary school in Washington was observed it was discovered that “‘fresh cooked’ does not mean ‘from scratch’ or even ‘fresh ingredients,’” a majority of the meals being served were “made from processed foods that have been precooked and frozen” (Bruske). Due to the fact that the food is precooked and frozen, the meals are normally steamed before being served. According to Bruske’s observations this has led to once “gleaming” vegetables to become “limp and drab”, and even become “completely disintegrated”. It is no wonder that students are not participating in this program. No one would like to eat food that is described in this way. This low-quality food is why many students would rather not eat. Cedric Bonsol, a junior who attends Bravo high school in Los Angeles said, “’Sometimes, I don't eat because I don't like it’" (Lin). This school meals are not up to par, and that is why so many students do eat the school provided lunches. If the schools started serving better quality food than what they are serving now, more students would likely begin to participate in the National School Lunch …show more content…
Program.
Since a majority of the schools have to “squeeze school meals into tight local food budgets” they are not able to buy higher quality food (Bruske).
The best way to stop the need to “squeeze” is by increasing the school lunch budget. A way to accomplish this could be done by borrowing elements from how the school lunch programs are in other places. For instance, Japan’s lunch program is set up so that “"municipalities pay for labor costs, but parents—billed monthly—pay for the ingredients, about $3 per meal, with reduced and free options for poorer families,"” (Woldow). This way more money is going into the budget, but there are still options for those who cannot afford it. If the National School Lunch Program were to take elements from them, like billing for the quality ingredients, then more students would participate. This would cause the NSLP to not be able to give free lunches for everyone, but with the fact that food is not being eaten anyway it might cause incentive to eat lunch. This way quality food can be afforded, and the National School Lunch Program will be able to have more
success.
Many school have an incredibly short scheduled time to prepare food and eat. A member of the Los Angeles Unified, Binkle, claims the serving food in the school cafeteria is similar to “a restaurant trying to serve 2,000 meals in 20 minutes” (Lin). He claims “"If you had 40 minutes, then we'd only have to prepare half and serve half at a time," he said. "You get much higher-quality food, you get much fresher food”” (Lin). This makes sense, because the more time you have to prepare the meal, the higher the chance you have of making the food better than if you were in a rush. With more time, there is more care put into the food. This will increase food quality, and encourage students to participate in the lunch program.
In order for The National School Lunch Program to obtain high quality food, they will need to have an augmented budget and a longer lunch time. It is important for student to take advantage of the lunch program. This way they can eat every day, and nothing is wasted. These possible solutions could be the key to success for the National School Lunch Program. This program should be important for parents, students, and the government. This program is funded by the people, so they should be able to reap the benefits of it. If things continue the way they are, money and food will continue to be wasted, and the students who need this program will be let down.