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Essay On Vending Machines In Schools

1393 Words6 Pages

Imagine you are in middle school and you come across an extra dollar and fifty cents of your lunch money that was not used. Any kid would not have trouble looking around to find the nearest vending machine to invest their newfound fortune in a sugary snack. With childhood obesity on the rise, school meal plans are being scrutinized. Schools all over the country are housing multiple vending machines in their cafeterias and academic hallways. Unquestionably, children spend a majority of their days in the school building. Surrounded by peers and teachers, a child is often influenced in their daily decisions and thoughts by those around them. Correspondingly, the school menu and vending machines have an impact on kids’ diet and eating habits, …show more content…

Schools and students have found loopholes in the USDA’s plan to regulate the nutritional value of school lunches. While schools have to follow the USDA guidelines for their official daily served lunch and breakfast options, alternate food options such as vending machines and ‘a la carte’ lines are causing trouble. These alternate lunch options are referred to as “competitive foods” (“Junk Food in Schools”). These competitive foods are the issue and need to be altered in school cafeterias across the nation. They offer a replacement to the regular school lunches, and some kids find themselves skipping out on the school provided lunch options altogether (“Junk Food in Schools”). The USDA places some restrictions on competitive foods, requiring them to “contain at least five percent of the recommended daily allowance of a number of specific nutrients, including protein and certain vitamins” (“Junk Food in Schools”). These restrictions seem to be unpopular because they limit some schools from selling chewing gum or breath mints (because they lack nutrients), but they can sell candy and french fries (“Junk Food in Schools”). This system seems quite unkempt and

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