Lunch was an exciting part of the day in elementary school. When the bell rang, kids swarmed into the lunch yard with their action figure lunch boxes eager to unveil what goodies were packed for them. The feeling of accomplishment you got when you traded with another student for the tastier treat.These are the memories you keep with you. Imagine not having that opportunity, the students at Little Village Academy in the west Side of Chicago know how that feels. One day they have their own packed lunch and the next they have to eat from the chosen foods in the school cafeteria that the dissatisfied administration chose for them because they disagree with the choice of foods that the kids had packed in their lunch. the only exception is if you have a medical condition. Yes, eating healthy nutritious food is obviously an issue, but who's to say what the kids have in their lunches every day. Just because one student wants to treat himself to a soda doesn't mean that the rest of the school has to be punished for it. In an interview with the principal Elsa Carmona "It's about the nutrition and the excellent quality food that they are able to serve (in the lunch room). Its milk vs. a coke." From a young age, these children are being taught that some decisions are not up to them, even if it involves them.
They are telling them what to eat, telling them what they learn, some schools how to dress, what will they do next, come to my house and tell me what I can eat? During an observation at the school, there were two options, you eat the food that you are given or you go hungry. A large majority of the students would take the food, but as the end of lunch was near, they threw out most of it with only little pecks taken out. Both parents and students are angered in the choice that administration made because the food is not meeting the child personal interests. I believe that as Americans, this is taking away our rights to freedom. We should have the choice of what we want to put in our bodies, not have someone regulating it. So, whats in your lunch?
16 comments:
hey! i am having computer issues so pardon my lack of an image, it said it uploaded one but i guess it made a mess up...
I think that child nutrition is a big deal. Although it might be against their will and their freedom, I feel it may be the only way that will work. Kids need to learn how to eat right at a young age so they continue eating healthy through their whole lives. It is important for the food companies and schools to put in the extra money or effort to make the food taste good so the kids actually eat it. I know it can be done!
This is annoying, at best, and tyrranical at worst. It is frustrating to me that the schools feel as though they have a right to tell children what to put into their bodies. It also seems like a waste of food and money if kids are throwing it away. This really is unacceptable that people would invade the private lives of students. It's already obscene how much control a school has over students, and to another layer like this is ever worse.
To some extent, I think nutrition regulations are good for the school in that they ensure certain nutritional needs are being met. But in this case, I disagree with this school's approach in forcing the students to eat school lunch without the option of bringing their own school lunch- the school is definitely overstepping their authority in forcing the students to only buy school lunch. In addition, this school also definitely needs to reevaluate their school lunch policy, seeing as most students are throwing away their lunch anyways.
Well, they say it's to protect the children from "their own unhealthy choices," but I agree with Jason about it being tyrranical. All I can say is that the school better be giving them some good nutritious food, otherwise they're basically cooking up hypocracy. I admire what they're trying to do, but I don't think its too big of a deal. Its only an elementary school, and I don't think this will make them feel as if their rights are being taken away from them.
The school certainly has good intentions, but their methods of execution are definitely faulty. By implementing this "solution," they're actually spreading malnutrition since some kids will choose to either not eat or take the school lunch to take only a few nibbles. In the long run, FORCING kids to eat healthily won't TEACH kids that they should eat healthily.
Perhaps a better approach to helping kids eat healthier is to email the parents a couple of pointers in making a healthy lunch. Remind parents of the serious repercussions of unhealthy foods at an early age.
I think that it should be up to the parents on what their child eats and not solely the decision of a school district. I agree with previous comments on how the school district has possibly taken a step too far in deciding what the children can and can't eat. If a parent truly did not want to deal with or did not have the time to provide a nutritious lunch for their children then they would have signed their child up for the school's lunch program already. I view this stance by the district as too controlling of the lives of the students.
In a time where childhood obesity as at an all time high, I can understand how the schools think that students should instill better eating habits, but how the schools are doing it is not the most effective way. How do we know that kids don't throw away their lunch and just go home and eat whatever food (possibly junk food) they want. There are foods out there that are nutritious and tasty, so if the schools really want to have healthier foods, put in the money for foods that students will consume rather than throw away. It's more costly for delicious AND healthy foods, but think about the money already wasted on thrown away meals.
I actually think this is a great thing that the school is doing.
I look around the people around me and most either go for the "healthy" lunches served at school or bring their own chips and sodas. I really do think by forcing these student to eat healthy will result in a change my how they eat throughout the rest of their lives.
Coming from personal experience, my parents never bought any sodas, juices, snacks, not even cereal when i was young. Even though it tastes very good, i eventually grew to live and like not eating those foods and still to this day, even with no suervision around, i dont drink sodas and other unhealthy foods.
I get how some people may think that this is overstepping the bouderies of personal choice, but i think it is a bounderie that needs to be set.
If the school must have the children eat from the cafeteria and not have the freedom to bring their own lunches, then the school should provide not only a nutritious meal, but one that also appeals to the students' tastes. Healthy and nutritious is not necessarily plain broccoli and spinach; there's ways to make fruits and vegetables delicious where the kids won't merely "peck" at their lunches and throw the rest out. Promoting nutrition and healthiness is great, but I don't know if taking away the students' freedom during lunchtime is the right way to approach it. The administration can reach out to the parents at home first and then the students to be more aware of the foods they eat, and have families make their own decisions to whether healthy eating should be a concern for them.
I completely agree with Eric's comment that the school has "good intentions." The whole world knows of America's "unhealthy" image, with the highest obesity rates across the globe and fast food restaurants on every other block. But I agree with most of the other opinions here- that this is the wrong way to come about this problem. The administration is trying to force children to eat healthy by limiting their food options, but even this isn't a surefire way to make them indulge in these foods- rather, I would bet that a handful of kids would rather NOT eat altogether than be forced to eat "healthy" foods. America's "unhealthiness" does not stem from schools; it comes from the family. If the nation hopes to have a healthier and happier generation, we should target family lifestyles and help children AND adults alike succeed in making healthy choices.
While this plan sounds good in theory, I think it is too idealistic and won't work. Unless schools can produce healthy food that actually tastes good, there will probably be a lot of resentment greeting this program. For example, Aragon is "healthier" now, but I think that the school lunches are actually less healthy than my own and are often kind of gross looking. Besides, schools are so underfunded, where are they going to find the money to give hundreds of kids free, quality, and "healthy" lunches?
I understand that this school had plenty of good intentions in mind; however, they just don't know how to properly implement their plan of having a healtier student population. First of all, the school does not have the right to force students to consume the food they want them to eat. This is a violation of the rights that both students and parents have. Additionally, by making students eat what they have prescribed for them, the school is taking away the responsibility of parents. Parents and their kids should have the sole responsibility of choosing what to consume during their mid day meal. I also think that their plan is extremely wasteful. The school tries to force students to eat their meals by offering the negative reinforcement of going hungrey as an alternative, yet many of the students that do take the food end up tossing it away, which is a bit ironic because they're going hungry both cases.
Or maybe this was the schools original intention after all! Maybe they wanted to slim down students to a healthier form, so they decided that serving crappy food and forcing everyone to eat it would cause the students to choose to go hungry rather than eat school lunch. What an evil but effective idea.
I believe that the school has good intentions, but it will never work. If you want to make children eat healthy, I believe that you must give them proper food choices at a very young age. If kids grow up eating healthy food, they will not mind eating this food on a regular basis.
As much as I believe that a healthy diet is important especially for children, I do not agree with this policy. Not only does this decision affect the children but also their parents who should ultimately have the decision of what their kids eat. Offering a healthy lunch can be appropriate, but if eating that meal is the only alternative for hunger, that is when schools have taken it too far.
As much as I believe that a healthy diet is important especially for children, I do not agree with this policy. Not only does this decision affect the children but also their parents who should ultimately have the decision of what their kids eat. Offering a healthy lunch can be appropriate, but if eating that meal is the only alternative for hunger, that is when schools have taken it too far.
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