学校午餐及其他

我们的孩子需要并且应该得到健康的食物. A diet rich in fruits, vegetables, lean proteins and whole grains, as recommended by the U.S. 农业部(USDA)和营养专家, 能帮助孩子健康成长吗, 精神状态机敏, and capable of meeting the challenges of adulthood in the 21st century.

但在一个由不健康食品主导的食品体系中, 人工廉价加工食品, 对许多美国儿童来说，获得健康食品是一个严重的问题. 结果是, childhood obesity has grown rapidly over recent decades—especially for low-income and minority children—with long-term health consequences that will shorten lives and send health care costs soaring.

In this grim food landscape, there’s one oasis for millions of kids: the school cafeteria.

为什么学校午餐很重要

国家学校午餐计划(NSLP), created by Congress in 1946 and shaped by additional legislation over the following decades, provides support—mostly in the form of cash subsidies—for schools to provide meals to students. Participating schools must serve lunches that adhere to federal nutrition standards, and they must offer free or reduced price (FRP) lunches to children who qualify.

对很多学生来说, NSLP meals are a crucial source of healthy foods that their families may not have the access, 钱, 或者在一天剩下的时间里提供时间. The program also turns lunchtime into an opportunity for nutrition education: by showing students what a healthy diet looks like, the school can provide a counterpoint to the steady stream of messages promoting unhealthy, 加工食品对儿童及其父母的影响.

身体健康, 《617888九五至尊娱乐》, 国会提高了该计划的营养标准, bringing them into better alignment with current federal dietary guidelines. 尽管有大量证据表明HHFKA正在发挥作用, it has provoked a backlash from some school nutrition professionals, who claim that it has resulted in increased waste and negative attitudes toward healthy food.

数据显示:学校午餐是有效的

To assess how well subsidized school lunches succeed at putting healthier food in kids’ mouths, UCS analyzed data from a Department of Education study that tracked the eating behavior of a cohort of students. The study surveyed the group as fifth graders in 2004 and again as eighth graders in 2007.

最终的报告， 《517888九五至尊娱乐》的教训, shows that federally subsidized school lunches do make a difference: children who were FRP lunch recipients ate more fruits and vegetables than their peers who were not. 然而, the report also confirms the challenges that school lunch programs face in the larger food environment: FRP students consumed more fast food and sugary drinks than non-FRP students, 而且他们更容易肥胖, 这种差异在五年级和八年级之间有所增加.

给健康食品一个机会:国会需要做的

2015年，《617888九五至尊娱乐》即将更新. This is a crucial opportunity to strengthen what is working about current federal school lunch policy and to provide support for schools that have struggled to implement HHFKA successfully.

我们的政策简报， 健康的学校膳食，健康的孩子, offers several specific recommendations that Congress should incorporate into a renewed HHFKA—including increased reimbursement funding, 更好的营养教育, 自助餐厅设备投资, 并增加了对“农场到学校”项目的支持.