By Cassie Smith
The Healthy, Hunger-Free Kid Act was passed on December 2nd, 2010. 4.5 billions dollars was set aside to give schools money for lunches. It also set forth a standard for nutritional values in the schools.
Not only does the bill update nutrition but it also makes breakfasts and lunches readily available to all students. The bill is the first of its kind in thirty years. It is expected to be signed into law by President Obama.
The bill includes “farm-to-cafeteria” programs. It will provide more nutrition and help the local community.
Certain students bring their lunches to avoid the food they are offered in the school cafeteria.
“I bring my lunch when I have a chance,” sophomore Elizabeth Hopkins said. “The school food does taste good but it is so unhealthy and after an hour of eating it, I feel sick.”
The school lunch seems to cause concern. Some do not see there is any kind of health value in them.
“I feel that the sandwiches are either under cooked or overcooked. There is little to no healthy food,” sophomore Kierra Lanier said.
Food usually consists of three main items: chicken, fries, juice and/or milk. Some students want more diversity.
“I bought lunch the first week of school, but I started to notice that the food was the same every day. I like variety in my choices,” sophomore Ashley Wilkes said.
Students are often become uninterested in the same types of foods.
“There are not a lot of options at lunch. There is salad, cheese pizza, or sides. It would be nice to see something simple like a grilled cheese sandwich. Having salads every day can get pretty boring,” junior Helen Kendall said.
In health and physical education classes, students are taught to make healthy food choices.
“Prince George High School needs to rethink the lunch menu. They enforce Physical education classes and exercise, yet they feed us chicken nuggets and greasy fries every day,” sophomore Kayla Crookshanks said.
Knowing what nutrients are needed, students can decide to eat the food or not.
“The school food is the unhealthiest food in my opinion. We are always told to eat healthy but eating school food is not teaching us good habits,” sophomore Katelynn Fowler said.
Not only do the chicken nuggets, sandwiches, cheeseburgers, and fries seem to be a problem, but vegetarian students do not have many options.
“The food is not very good. I am a vegetarian and it is very hard to order lunch at school. Even the salads have meat on them,” sophomore Taylor Carpenter said.
Regardless to what many people may think, vegetarian diets can easily meet all of the recommendations for nutrients. They can obtain protein mainly by plant-based foods.
Some are beans, nuts, and soy products (tofu, tempeh, veggie burgers), milk products and possibly eggs instead of meats.
Menu changes could take place to please the vegetarian students and meet their nutritional needs. They could offer veggie burgers, salads made to where students choose the toppings, and various types of fresh fruits.
In the next school year the Healthy, Hunger-Free Kid Act will be in affect if signed by Obama. The issues of variety and nutrition will be addressed and solved in the bill.
The bill provides free and reduced lunches to a larger percentage of students. This mean all students will receiver better nutrition, local produce, and close to no junk food.