The Public Needs to Know (Essay Sample)

The Public Needs to Know – Draft Version
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20 million of all the 32 million children in the US who eat lunch at school are from low-income households. School meals are essential in addressing the nutritional shortfalls of these children. In addition to addressing the nutritional shortfalls of children from low-income households, the healthy school meals also address the nation’s obesity problem (Heather-Grafton, Henchy, & Levi, 2012). Research shows that childhood obesity prevalence in the US has tripled since the 1980s (Center for Disease Control and Prevention, 2012). Further research indicates that only 1-2% of American children meet the endorsed dietary guidelines for Americans (Crawford, 2011). The dietary guidelines recommend increasing the amount of fruits, vegetables and whole grains, lowering sodium and saturated fats intake and setting the maximum number of calories for school meals. Implementation of the new standards for the national school lunch and breakfast is essential in addressing the nutritional shortfalls and mitigating the prevailing childhood obesity crisis in America.
In 2010, the first lady Michelle Obama campaigned for the Healthy, Hunger-Free Kids Act that was enacted as a guide to effect changes in school meals and raise healthier children. The law made several provisions such as the US Department of Agriculture (USDA) responsibility to commission revised school meal nutrition standards in conformity with the Dietary Guidelines for Americans (Food and Research Action Centre, 2014). Implementation of the provisions or the recommendations envisioned schools providing increased offerings of nutritious foods such as fruits, vegetables, whole grains and 1% non-fat milk. It also envisioned a decrease in offerings of foods high in fat, sugar and sodium (Crawford, 2011).
In 2012, the USDA commissioned the new standards. Its lunch recommendations had to be implemented in all schools during the 2012-2013 school year. It phased the breakfast standards implementation to take place over the 2013-2014 school year. It also included cultural food options like tofu as a meat or meat alternative. The standards also considerably reduced the overall cost by reducing it from $6.7 billion to $3.2 billion over five years (Food and Research Action Center, 2014). The standards doubled the fruits and vegetables serving for lunches and breakfast. It also allowed students to decline some foods to reduce wastage through plate waste and unnecessary costs. Student may decline one food when four items are offered at breakfast, and they may decline two foods when five food components are offered at lunch. It is however mandatory to select the minimum of a half cup of fruits or vegetables (Heather-Grafton, Henchy, & Levi, 2012).
The new standards also require schools to offer meals that are based on food requirements such as 1 cup of fruits instead of nutrient calculations and follow age categories. The food requirements are planned according to a food based menu planning that, for instance, would recommend 1 cup of fruit rather than a specific amount of vitamins. It ensures that students have access to healthy foods in key food groups and provides a practical and easy way to plan nutritious meals. Meal planning according to age/ grade ensures schools provide age appropriate meals with improved flexibility. It also recommends that individual states provide technical assistance. It is in addition to assessing schools compliance with the meal pattern, average calorie, sodium, and trans fat levels in the planned meals (Heather-Grafton, Henchy, & Levi, 2012).
The new standards ensure that students are served with more nutritious foods. They are required to take both fruits and vegetables as opposed to the earlier standards where they were required to choose either of the two. Eating both significantly improves students’ health. Additionally, the new standards require students to eat a variety of vegetables such as dark green, red, orange, legumes and starchy vegetables. Having a variety of vegetables with different colors makes it easier to get the nutrients required in the body. It also contributes to better health and significantly reduces potential medical costs as compared to a situation where steps are not taken to improve children’s nutrition (Crawford, 2011).
The program is also helpful in reducing childhood hunger because it addresses nutritional shortfalls of the children that live in food insecure households. The meals provided through the program are of higher nutritional quality than the meals they would access elsewhere. Reports show that children from low-income households who benefit from the program’s meals eat better quality diets than those who eat elsewhere or those that miss breakfast. The program also prevents consumption of junk food and meets the nutritional requirements of the 22.5% of children from low-income and food insecure households. The program also yields significant bene...