The clock rings at 12:30, it’s lunch time. Hundreds of hungry kids fill the arcade. Most of these students are either athletes, involved in multiple extracurricular activities or come from low income families. The lunch lines fill up with students pushing to get their carton of milk, salad or sandwich. The herd of kids move to sit down at tables and look down at their plates. Then the disappointment hits. For the Gen-Z students today, this disappointment is all they have ever known.
In 2010, Michelle Obama was the first-lady of the United States. Obesity rates in children were only getting higher due to school lunches being unhealthy and lacking vegetables, fruits and whole grains. So our first-lady puts a plan into action! The “Let’s Move” campaign was a campaign that led many schools, museums, hospitals and foundations to recognize child obesity as an actual problem. The campaign even had Beyonce changing her song lyrics to support Obama! With such a huge impact, one would think that Obama’s work would still be going strong 14 years later, and while school lunches are still very accessible and healthier, we are now facing new issues.
Harvard Health on eating enough food states; “Like an expensive car, your brain functions best when it gets only premium fuel. Eating high-quality foods that contain lots of vitamins, minerals, and antioxidants nourishes the brain and protects it from oxidative stress — the “waste” (free radicals) produced when the body uses oxygen, which can damage cells. Unfortunately, just like an expensive car, your brain can be damaged if you ingest anything other than premium fuel,” (health.harvard.edu). Michelle Obama made it possible for students around America to receive the most nourishing, healthy and accessible “fuel” around. But are our students getting enough food, and is the fuel that students receive actually premium?
When there are athletes playing many sports, the school food needs to be filling, hearty and healthy. These athletes need to have access to this kind of food, especially when some of these athletes don’t have access to lunch food at home. Freshman Anthony Tarascio says that if he was only eating school lunch and not being provided with extra snacks from home he would not have enough energy or nourishment to succeed in his sport. Not to mention that many students get home very late and do not have time to prepare a home lunch every night. Vittorio , freshman, then says that school lunch gives him some energy but not enough to get him through his long hours of marching band, especially on nights when he gets home past 11:00 pm, he states “it depends on the day because my schedule changes, like on Thursdays I get home very late so no”. Chandler Colter, North freshman says that he does not have access and time to be able to bring lunch from home considering he also has to carry around a backpack and a sports bag, Chandler says, “No, not really. Also, […] because it is too much to bring around. […] It would be a lot to carry around, especially with my sports bag and my backpack”. The general consensus is that certain school lunches (such as chicken, rice or salad) fill these athletes up and help them succeed in sports.
For the four freshmen, the school lunch that they are provided with does not provide sufficient nutrition. In order to be productive in classes, sports and extracurricular activities, all four freshmen stated that they would need to bring snacks or extra food from home. Not all students have the privilege to be able to pack extra snacks on the daily. For many low-income families, it might be tough to provide their children with the extra food that they need.
In 2010 Obama made plenty of progress towards healthier, more nutritious and more accessible school lunches. Now we need to ensure that athletes, busy students and students from low income families are all getting the sufficient nutrients they need to support themselves during classes and during sports. To take action, schools can make sure that all students are aware of the breakfast and after school snacks that are provided. Coaches can survey their students to make sure they are eating enough and healthy food before each practice. It’s important that we serve more meals like chicken and rice and less buffalo chicken pizza. Our students deserve premium fuel!
