School Lunch Menu Analysis

In are cafeteria we don’t have a big variety of healthy foods. Our school lunch menu includes pizza, chicken burgers, chicken Alfredo, rice bowls, enchiladas, macaroni, and deli sandwiches with chips. The only healthy option we have is salad. The type of salad used is iceberg, which is mostly water. The breakfast options are muffin tops, cereal, prepackaged pancakes, mini cinnamon rolls, bagels, and oatmeal with a lot of brown sugar poured on top. Most of our food choices include some type of grain and are processed foods. Since we are near many farms we should get fresh food from our local farms. Also stop serving pizza everyday, have more whole grain foods, and serve organic fruit and vegetables. This can be done for example in the article

In the article “Attacking the obesity Epidemic by First figuring out its cause” by Jane E. Brody. She reflects on how “ children aged 2 to 19 consume seven trillion calories of sugar sweetened beverages a year.” Also in that article she says, “Schools that introduce healthful foods in the classroom have shown that they are more likely to be eaten in the lunchroom and at home.” Thinking about it seven trillion sugar sweetened beverages is a lot. By improving our school food students will be more physically fit.
If we improve our school lunches it will benefit students, yes it will be more expensive but it is beneficial in the long run. If this is going to be done “it could be done for about $5 per child” according to “No lunch left behind” by Alice Walters and Katrina Heron. Which isn’t that much considering lunch and breakfast is $3 if you don’t have reduced or free lunch. We could even have parents donate planting seeds for fruits and vegetables for student lunches and breakfast.
Those are a few of my ideas on how to improve students eating habits at school. It wont be easy to make a change but it will make students physically healthier. We should be offered fresh ingredients and healthful foods. For our well-being and to become healthier