A School’s Influence on How We Live | Teen Ink

A School’s Influence on How We Live

May 17, 2017
By AimeeCuenca BRONZE, Harvey, Louisiana
AimeeCuenca BRONZE, Harvey, Louisiana
1 article 0 photos 0 comments

The  school lunch does not always provide the healthiest choices for students who buy their lunch everyday. Students tend to have to decide between two meals that do not contain many vegetables or fruits. The options for lunch are normally solely based around starch and carbohydrates, and the meals sometimes do not even include a portion of vegetables. For example, they may have spaghetti and alfredo pasta on the same day. Neither of these dishes provide many vitamins for students to work diligently throughout the day. Meals that are served at school have to be very healthy with protein for many reasons. One reason is because the students tend to adapt fatty eating habits. Also, some students are eating a very early lunch, so their meal must provide them with the correct vitamins and proteins for them to work throughout the day. Even though there is a salad bar, many students do not like or eat salad, and they have no other healthier options of meals to chose from. The snacks that are provided are mostly made up of junk food. This starts the trend of students eating fatty foods consistently throughout the week. Overall, does not always provide the healthiest options for students throughout the week so that they can be attentive and diligent workers.

   

There are many solutions to unhealthy lunches that could help the students get through their day with the proper amount of vitamins and nutrients. One solution to the unhealthy lunches is to provide a line for meals that contain just meat and vegetables instead of two hot lunches that are based off of starches. The cafeteria would then have the hot lunch, salad bar, pizza line, and a healthy lunch option. In addition to making a healthier lunch option, the portions of the starch that is given to the students compared to the amount of protein is extremely disproportionate. The students end up eating mainly carbohydrates instead of meat and vegetables. The proportion of meat to starch could be evened out, and these dishes could also incorporate a small section of fruits and vegetables. Lastly, the amounts of snacks that are provided for the students are mainly cakes and junk food. There may be some granola bars that provide protein, but the majority of snacks are fatty foods. We could try to incorporate pretzels, peanut butter, and crackers as different healthy snacks. Overall, solutions to the unhealthy lunches are to create a new healthy lunch line, have proportionate meals, and have healthier snacks.

     

These solutions can lead to many benefits for the students. For example, if someone would create a new lunch line with healthier options besides salad, there would be more options for students to chose a healthy lunch. This would provide a variety of foods between the different lunch lines, and the students could now have the option to continue to eat at school and stay healthy. Even if a student wants to eat a meal that contains some starch, they would have the option to do so. The proportionate meals would help these students have a more balanced lunch with both starch and protein. In addition, the more variety of healthier snacks would allow a student that is still hungry to eat something without having to resort to cookies, ice cream, or cake. All three of these solutions will help students throughout the rest of their day. The students would be able to concentrate and participate more because they have more vitamins and nutrients. Also, the students that have first lunch eat very early, so they especially need a nutritionist meal. These lunches allow the students to be full and healthy throughout the rest of their day. In conclusion, students that are provided with these healthier lunches are able to focus on school, be healthy, and get through the rest of their day.



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