By Aubrey Barry
Around 30 million students in the U.S. eat the lunches that their school provides. Many also choose to eat breakfast at school. However, are these cafeteria meals really what we should be feeding these growing students? From rising prices, over-processed meals, and options that don’t even taste good to the student body, many problems can be found within this system.
It’s no secret that we have gotten more comfortable with introducing ultra-processed food into our diet. The same goes for school lunches. The Chef Ann Foundation states that as a result of focusing less and less attention on school food, it has become increasingly unhealthy. Processed foods are more convenient and longer lasting, yes, but obviously come with other health negatives. We went from meals made homemade in the school kitchens, to pre-prepared food being delivered from factories. It’s not just school lunches, though. Many schools offer processed chips or sugary drinks for an added cost along with their lunches.
Furthermore, schools are charging students more money for lunches. The average price of a school meal is three dollars, but for a lot of schools, it’s even higher. Schools have begun to struggle to accommodate these changes. The U.S. government even has to help some school districts provide free or reduced lunches to low income students. According to Nebraska Public Media, around 48% of students from Nebraska were eligible for free or reduced lunch. So why are we paying more for food that is arguably worse in nutrition quality than it has been in the past? With inflation, prices will keep climbing, but we must not let the quality of these lunches decline.
Lastly, many students don’t even find the school lunches to be appetizing. There has been a dramatic increase seen in the amount of students bringing their own lunches to school. A survey was done in California that received feedback from both high school and middle school students. It showed that around 34% of students from public schools don’t like the lunches that their school provides.
Overall, school lunches in public schools have been declining in quality for the past several decades. The prices of these meals just seem to keep rising, unlike the students’ satisfaction. Will America seek a change for better health of their future generations? Or will they allow this new diet as long as it makes them money? These are the questions that need to be answered before they cause drastic changes in the lives of future generations.