The National Lunch Program - 1342 Words

A slice of pizza, a cheeseburger, chicken strips, chocolate milk, French fries, or spaghetti: these all may sound like delicious options, but are they healthy to be serving students for school lunch? All of these foods are common items one might find in a school lunch line, whether it is elementary, middle, or high school. Normally these foods may not be seen as nutritional, and because of this, school lunches are often not viewed as healthy. The people who have this opinion about school lunches may not know the facts and the guidelines that food and nutrition departments need to follow when cooking for students. Thus, it is important that the lunches served to students are nutritious and healthy for them so that they can perform†¦show more content†¦With fruits being their own component of school meals, students are able to get the fruity nutrients that vegetables may not offer. In the past, the requirement for fruits and vegetables combined was only one-half to three- fourths of a cup (â€Å"Comparison of Previous and Current†); this shows that fruits and vegetables have been becoming more common in school lunches. To make them more appealing, some schools are trying to make locally grown fruits and vegetables available to students during lunch by implementing Farm to School programs (Parish 416). As of 2011, there was a total of 2200 Farm to School programs being run in forty-five states (Parish 417). It is no secret that kids are not the biggest fans of fruits and vegetables, but by making fresh fruits and vegetables more accessible, they are likely to be more appealing to students. Fruits and vegetables are just two components of the typical school meal, but they provide many nutritional elements. Grains and meats are also key to nutritional meals for students. Currently, the NSLP requires that students receive eight to twelve ounces of grains per week depending on the students’ age (â€Å"Comparison of Previous and Current †). This is slightly different from the past when the requirement for all ages was eight servings per week with a minimum of one daily serving (â€Å"Comparison of Previous and Current†). The NSLP is making the servings of grainsShow MoreRelatedThe National School Lunch Program Essay856 Words   |  4 PagesIntroduction The National School Lunch Program began after the great depression. The government began to send farm commodities to schools in hopes of helping malnourished children. The National School Lunch Program provides nutrition to children across the United States. There are strict guidelines that school districts must follow to be eligible to participate in the National School Lunch Program funded by the U.S. Department of Agriculture. What is wrong with school lunches? The monies receivedRead MoreThe National School Lunch Program1258 Words   |  6 PagesHowever, the National School Lunch Program (NSLP) Food and Nutrition Guidelines provide more problems for schools and they need to be eradicated, as well as repealing the Healthy, Hunger-Free Kids Act. The NSLP is â€Å"a federally assisted meal program operating in public and nonprofit private schools and residential child care institutions. It provides nutritionally balanced, low-cost or free lunches to children each school day. The program was established under the National School Lunch Act, signedRead MoreThe National School Lunch Program987 Words   |  4 Pagesreminds us that everybody has a role to play when it comes to reducing childhood obesity. The Federal Government’s role also comes into play with the National School Lunch Program. The National School Lunch Program is a federally assisted meal program that operates in over 100,000 schools and child care facilities. Those who participate in this program get cash subsidies as well as food from the U.S. Department of Agriculture. Participants are also required to followed dietary guidelines. Meals providedRead MoreThe National School Lunch Program1616 Words   |  7 PagesAbstract The National School Lunch Program is a great resource for schools to use, to help provide children whom may not be able to afford their own lunches. The problem with the program though is that the recent changes to the requirements schools must follow make it difficult to provide lunches that are appealing and fulfilling to students. Schools also find that it is costing them more to try and follow these requirements and there is a lot more waste because students are not happy. TheRead MoreThe National School Lunch Program1019 Words   |  5 Pagesand their education level. According to the National Center for Children in Poverty, â€Å"about fifteen million children in the united states, twenty-one percent of all children, live in families below the federal poverty threshold,† (www.nccp.org). Majority of these children will go to school hungry, which will affect their performance in school. The National School Lunch Program provides lunch to help feed them and keep them focus during the day. This program also benefits farmers and the economy by raisingRead MoreThe National School Lunch Program760 Words   |  4 PagesThe National School Lunch Program is a federally funded meal program operating in over 100,000 public. It provides nutritionally balanced, low†cost or free lunches to more than 31 million children each school day in 2012 based on the childs household income (USDA). The program is managed by the Food and Nutrition Service at the Federal level and by a State education agency at the state level. We will be looking at the statistics of the National Lunch Program for five local schools, and compareRead MoreThe National School Lunch Program Essay1640 Words   |  7 Pagescombat hunger in children the federal government responded with several major programs. Two of the programs the National School Lunch Program (NSLP) and the School Breakfast Program (SBP) are targeted towards school age children. These programs provide students with breakfast and lunch while they are at school. The Policy The National School Lunch Program(NSLP) is a federally funded program. The purpose of the program is to provide school age children with a nutritious meal in the middle of theirRead MoreThe National School Lunch Program Essay1928 Words   |  8 PagesThe National School Lunch Program (NSLP), originally initiated in 1946 under the name the National School Lunch Act, has served in excess of 224 billion school lunches to children throughout the United States since its inception (National School Lunch Program). The goals of the program include serving a school lunch that meets certain nutritional requirements and is available at low or no cost to eligible students (National School Lunch Program). While the program has undergone many changes overRead MoreThe Goals Of The National School Lunch Program Essay814 Words   |  4 Pages According to the Richard B. Russell National School Lunch Act, the goal of the National School Lunch Program is â€Å"to safeguard the health and well-b eing of the Nation’s children and to encourage the domestic consumption of nutritious agricultural commodities and other food, by assisting the States in providing an adequate supply of foods and other facilities for the establishment, maintenance, operation, and expansion of nonprofit school lunch programs†.1 NASW Code of Ethics One of theRead MoreConsistency in the National School Lunch Program Essay2063 Words   |  9 PagesClaim The National School Lunch Program needs to standardize and regulate their set nutritional standards at all schools to help curb the growing prevalence of childhood obesity and other weight related diseases. What is the National School Lunch Program? â€Å"The National School Lunch Program, or NSLP, is a federally assisted meal program operating in over 101,000 public and non†profit private schools and residential childcare institutions.† (National school lunch, 2011) This government-run program