Banning Junk food in Schools
... only reason that kids eat junk food over healthier cafeteria food is because they are used to it. If the students didn’t have junk food then they would adapt to eating nutritious food. Judy Stewart, a school nurse for over 18 years, told about a situation at her school where they bought a milk vending machine. The milk vending machine offered seven different flavors, and it was very popular among the students selling around 300 bottles a week. Students will choose milk if they can and once they feel its positive health effects they will choose it over soda as well. Nutrition should be integrated into the curriculum in classes such as biology and social studies. The schools also need to start offering fun alternative courses for physical education like dancing and roller skating so that the attendance level for physical education will rise. Originally, the National School Lunch Program of 1946 was designed for those students of low income families that couldn’t afford to pay for lunches everyday, so these meals were offered for a small amount of money. By being a part of the National School Lunch program the government reimburses the schools depending on the amount of people that purchase it everyday. With the schools moving towards private management companies, however, the lunches range from 2 to 3 dollars, making it hard for those from low income families. Also, by receiving food from the management companies, schools forfeit the opportunity for government reimbursement. The main reason why some are against banning junk food at schools is that schools are in the need of funds for programs that they have and receiving it from companies such as Pepsi Co and Frito-Lay seems like the easiest way. ”Common Sense and nutritional standards have given way to the laws of supple and demand” (Kimber par.2). However, competition from vending machines and concession stands can lead to less commission that these schools receive from the large companies, so if all the students just ate the food from the Lunch Program offered, the total revenue received would, in most cases, increase. Above all, the most important problem to deal with is the health of the students. Recent findings show clogged arteries and high cholesterol levels in 15-year-olds and early onsets of diabetes, heart disease and osteoporosis in teens that consume lots of sugar, salt, and fat(Kimber par.7).So if the controversy is based on money and how activities will be funded, it is more expensive to receive medical bills for people that need to fight these diseases later on in life, than to pay a bit more to have your child in marching band. Of course, like with any other controversial issue, there are compromises to be made. Breakfast and lunch should be catered by government lunch programs and their should only a few vending machines that have healthy and energizing snacks such as trail mixes, protein bars, milk and juice. The vending machines should only be accessible during breaks and turned off during class time. If schools decide to prohibit vending machines, this won’t necessarily prevent students from consuming these foods, but it is a way for the school to make a statement about its positive nutritional values and practices. If schools decide not to go with the government lunch programs, they should rethink having greasy foods such as Pizza and Tacos and instead bring in Subway an...