Due to the drab state of school lunches and the recent removal of ham from baked potato day, many students on the high school level have begun to forgo the free meals. Both the U.S. and Texas Departments of Agriculture severely limit what schools can and cannot serve, and despite best intentions, their near-stifling regulations are hurting more than helping.
The government should reevaluate the nutritional requirements school lunches must meet, as it is ultimately causing a decline in student wellbeing and food quality.
The dietary regulations are not meeting the nutritional goals set for growing teens and adolescents. According to the very charts that state schools must adhere to when providing meals, cafeterias are to serve 1420 mg of sodium, between 10 to 12 ounces of meat or meat alternatives(including beans, eggs, tree nuts), 5 cups of fruits, and 10-12 ounces of grains in a week. In contrast to these requirements, the recommended dietary guidelines do not include a numerical limit on sodium intake, and even include a flexible caloric window for more food or added fats and sugars. In addition to this, charts that show the average nutritional intake by teens compared to their recommended consumption reveal the actual nutrition that teens receive to be grossly below the recommended, healthy amounts.
Schools have a difficult time finding a suitable and desirable array of meal options that fit national nutrition requirements, largely due to the limits on sodium. While the government’s concern with lowering the sodium levels in teens in order to keep them healthy is understandable, the extracurricular activities most teens associate with often involve large amounts of physical activity and sweat, leading to an increase in the body’s need for sodium. School nutritional teams also struggle to find a balanced array of foods to serve that are below the sodium limit and appealing to students, often not reaching the latter.
A dull meal negatively affects the attitudes of students throughout the school day, and doesn’t sustain them through all of their classes. Due to the incredibly unappealing side choices presented to them, many students only take the food required of them, the entree, most of which are related to the school’s severely limited options. This leads to those students not receiving the intended nutritional benefits of school lunches, as they are only eating a small portion of the meal. The effects of a dull or even bad meal can have negative consequences on the learning experience of students. It’s commonplace for teenagers to consider lunch as both a respite from unending classes and a much needed energy and mood boost before resuming their academic focus; some even refer to it as their favorite class period. If the benefits of this recuperation time are no longer present, students will inevitably be unable to learn readily and thoroughly after the end of the lunch period.
