School Food Persuasive Essay

Obesity has been plaguing America for years. Many measures have been taken to try and eradicate the high percentages of obese children; some have worked, some have not. One measure that has recently been tried is improving students’ school lunches. Despite the good intentions of Michelle Obama and Congress, the advances taken towards healthy school lunches have backtracked in many aspects. The latest drive towards the school lunch regulations have been backed by Michelle Obama. The effect of her campaign has been seen on social media through a “trend of photographing gross-looking cafeteria meals with the hashtag #thanksmichelleobama [that] highlights growing pains from new changes to school lunch menus nationwide” (Fischer). Students are now being fed distinctly different school food than in past years; it is different enough to the point that it has become unappetizing. This has led to outrage, hence the outbreak on social media. There has been no time for them to adjust because this food has been thrown full force into the new standards and regulations. Students, parents, and teachers alike have been advocating, “strong criticisms about unappetizing meals, wasted food, and financial strain on school districts” (Kelly and Stier). The unrest among school districts across the country have caused people to question Michelle Obama’s decisions and her act that passed through Congress called the Healthy Hunger-Free Kids Act (HHFKA). It has tacked on regulations that schools have to obey when making the daily lunch menu; Michelle’s act created all of those regulations. Despite Michelle’s work and her positive intentions, the act has not been as successful as it was intended to be. It has been found that “since the passage of the Healthy Hunger-Free Kids Act (HHFKA) of 2010…participation in the school lunch program has declined by nearly 4 percent” (Minton). This statistic goes to show that there need to be some changes made to this program in order for it to be truly successful. One major downside to the HHFKA has been the increase in waste found in cafeterias’ garbage cans. Students are now required to pick up a fruit and vegetable before leaving the food line. This could be beneficial because of the increased possibility that the child will actually try to eat the healthy item. Instead of this outcome occurring, food waste has escalated exponentially. Studies have seen that “children threw out 60 to 75 percent of the veggies they selected, and 40 percent of fruit went into the trash” (Fischer). The studies’ results showed that even though the number of fruit and veggies that were grabbed by students has increased, it does not mean they were actually eating the healthy items. Just by making a student take a fruit or vegetable does not guarantee they are going to automatically eat it because it has been forced on their lunch tray. This act alone has caused “the amount of food students threw away [to increase] by 56 percent” (Minton). This statistic does not reflect positively on the act Congress passed. Why make students grab the healthy item if it is more than likely just going to be wasted in the end? There must be another way to get children to eat their fruits and vegetables other than just coercing them to take one before leaving the lunch line, especially if students are wasting more than a third of the whole wheat, fruit, and vegetable items on their tray (Fischer). The increased waste reflects …show more content…
This is true, but there are many more negatives to how the act is being run. For one example, the unappetizing food being created. A study has found that there is a simpler way to get students to eat healthier in the cafeteria. This happened to find and come up with the conclusion that the longer the lunch period, the higher fruit and vegetable consumption ended up being (Gosliner). By adding on more time to the lunch period, it aided in getting children to eat more fruits and vegetables. This way not so many of those strict regulations would be needed or at least they could be relaxed. If the main goal is to combat obesity, then why not try different approaches instead of being stuck on one