American schools have been providing lunches to students for more than 100 years, with Philadelphia and Boston being the first two cities to offer meals to students in 1894. Over the years, it has helped many families by unburdening them from part of their food costs and the time that it takes to prepare a meal to bring to school.
However, the nutritional aspect of it is questioned time and time again, and recently, this issue was brought up again by foreign students, who shared the unenviable state of American school lunches in one of their TikTok videos. The snippets of their school lunches ignited quite a discussion, with some people even comparing the meals to those that individuals get in prison. Scroll down to check them out for yourself, and be sure to leave your thoughts in the comments below, too.
The nutrition of school lunches is questioned time and time again
Image credits: U.S. Department of Agriculture (not the actual photo)
Recently, these foreign students reignited the discussion about this when they shared the school lunches they had to eat in America
Schools only get about $1.30 to feed each child
Image credits: U.S. Department of Agriculture (not the actual photo)
At first, school meals in America were introduced to educational institutions to reduce food insecurity, which simply means making food more accessible to students. In 2010, the Healthy, Hunger-Free Kids Act was established to make food not only accessible but also nutritious and healthy. These implemented standards limit the amount of salt, fat, and calories and ensure that meals are enriched with whole grains, fruits, and vegetables.
Even though the standards are there, the reality is that school lunches are far from being healthy or nutritious. Just like the featured TikTok video has shown, school meals are often poorly put together with an array of prepackaged foods that are served to students.
A 2009 investigation by USA Today even found that the meat quality served in US schools is worse than in fast food restaurants, and the majority of vegetables that cafeterias should be feeding children mostly contained French fries.
The main reason why this is happening is money. Federal subsidies are barely covering the costs that are required to buy and make the food. Each school only gets about $1.30 to feed each child, so it’s no surprise that, to fit the tight budget, schools have to compromise on food quality.
1 in 4 school meals are of poor nutritional quality
Image credits: U.S. Army Europe (not the actual photo)
According to the School Nutrition Association, nearly 30 million American students eat school lunch every day, which comes to about 60% of all public school students. That’s more than half the students who deserve to eat nutritious and healthy foods while learning.
“Access to nutritious and appealing school lunches is crucial for the health and academic success of our nation’s children,” said the senior vice president of ProCare Therapy, Stephanie Morris.
Currently, the students aren’t receiving the healthy school lunches they need. This is evident in ProCare Therapy’s 2024 report, where the most popular school foods included crispitos, pizzas, burgers, bosco sticks, chicken nuggets, sloppy joes, and other carb-loaded but non-nutritious foods.
What could be done to improve school lunch programs is to increase the budget and fairly stick to the US school nutrition standards. While there’s been a lot of progress over the years of trying to regulate sodium and sugar levels, schools should get more funding for fresh produce and healthy food options and be held more accountable with regular inspections, as to this day, 1 in 4 school meals are of poor nutritional quality. Even small changes in school nutrition policies can help students live longer, healthier lives.
Some people were appalled by the American school lunches
While others thought they weren’t that bad
Others also shared about their own school lunches from different countries
