Victor Wisconsin

Healthier School Lunches? I Think Not.

School should not distribute healthier lunches.

Dear Mr. President,

Whole wheat bread, disgusting! No one likes the taste of their food to be awful even if it's better for their health. Schools should provide unhealthier food. Healthier lunches result in more expensive costs. "The U.S. Department of Agriculture (USDA) pays schools back about $2.93 cents per lunch served to a child eligible for free meals, and the USDA offers an additional 6¢ per lunch for schools meeting the standards. But for smaller or nonprofit private schools that simply don’t have enough kids who qualify for these lunches, the often higher costs to feed them healthy meals that adhere to the new nutrition guidelines are not covered by this reimbursement" (Times Magazine). If students do not eat school’s lunch, the school results in a loss of profit. Many students take cold lunch-lunch made from home-to school instead of taking the healthier choice of the school's lunch.

“The most difficult to please, not surprisingly, are teens in high school. Because they are probably more set in their eating habits, and because high school athletes, for example, need to eat more calories, these schools have experienced the most backlash against the new lunch options, which many students felt were too skimpy” (Times Magazine). Teenager athletes need more energy than other people because of the need of energy for their activities. School does not provide enough calories to exceed their needs. Many students believe that school lunches do not provide enough quantity of food, and there is an extra cost for grabbing more food than recommended. Depriving teenagers of the food they need is not a great way for teenagers to develop. 

It is a win-win for schools and students. Schools save more money, and students get their satisfaction. If students wanted to eat healthy, they would complain about the unhealthy lunches provided before the healthier lunches. Future President, you should make the USDA change it's regulations and allow school to provide unhealthier lunches.