Discuss the problems associated with providing nutritious lunches to students at school

Answer 1

More than 31 million children receive lunches through the National School Lunch Program—more than half of them free or at a reduced price. School lunches are designed to provide at least a third of the recommendation for energy, protein, vitamin A, vitamin C, iron, and calcium. They must also include specified numbers of servings from each food group. In an effort to help reduce disease risk, all government-funded meals served at schools must follow the Dietary Guidelines for Americans.

The USDA Food and Nutrition Service recently updated the meal patterns and nutrition standards for school meals. Changes to meals include greater availability of fruits, vegetables, whole grains, and fat-free and low-fat milk, decreased levels of sodium, saturated fat, and trans-fat, and guidelines for meeting nutrient needs within specified kcalorie ranges based on age/grade groups for school children. Parents often rely on school lunches to meet a significant part of their children's nutrient needs on school days. Indeed, students who regularly eat school lunches have higher intakes of many nutrients and fiber than students who do not. Children don't always like what they are served, however, and school lunch programs must strike a balance between what children want to eat and what will nourish them and guard their health.

Serving nutritious lunches is only half the battle; students need to eat them, too. Short lunch periods and long lines prevent some students from eating a school lunch and leave others with too little time to complete their meals. Nutrition efforts at schools are also undermined when students can buy what the USDA labels "competitive foods"—meals from fast-food restaurants or à la carte foods such as pizza or snack foods and carbonated beverages from snack bars, school stores, and vending machines. These foods and beverages compete with nutritious school lunches. When students have access to competitive foods, participation in the school lunch program decreases, nutrient intake from lunch declines, and more food is discarded.

Increasingly, school-based nutrition issues are being addressed by legislation. The USDA recently published practical, science-based nutrition standards for "all foods sold in schools," including snack foods and beverages. The standards encourage healthier snack foods while limiting junk foods.