We all know that our school lunches have changed this year, but does anyone actually know the true reasons as to why?
Michelle Obama, First Lady, is making changes nationwide in an attempt to make our school lunches healthier in a fight against obesity. Lunches will be much healthier with less sodium, more whole grains and more fruits and veggies as sides.
Just how much healthier will these lunches be?
According to a CBS News interview with Tom Vilsack, USDA Secretary, students will have 6.5 more cups of vegetables per week than ever before.
However, no one can argue with the fact that our diets are an issue, and we do need to eat healthier; but the complaints do not stem from this. Students are upset with the portion sizes and the recent decline in the “quality” of the food.
The quality has nothing to do with our lunch ladies. They are being told now how to cook certain meals and prepare the food now because of certain regulation changes. Students are only allowed 750 – 850 calories per meal, and for many students this isn’t enough.
After school activities, sports practices, musical practices and work are all things that students face daily on top of their school workloads. So when school lunch portions have been significantly reduced, it is not surprising when students complain.
Recently on Facebook, there was a petition sent out asking Louisburg students to bring their own lunches from home instead of eating the schools food. This isn’t just in the high school; it has spread throughout the whole USD416 district! Students throughout the district have been protesting these changes by bringing their lunch from home, refusing to eat any of the school food.
Eating healthier food is something that we as a nation do need to work on, but this new system is obviously not working out for the majority of students here in Louisburg. The program should not necessarily be cut completely, just reformed. They need to consider that not all students are the same size, same age, or at the same rate of growing, so we do not all need the same portions of food.
