NATIONAL SCHOOL LUNCH PROGRAM By: Pam, Jen, Kassandra and Allie

WHAT IS THE NATIONAL LUNCH PROGRAM?  The National School Lunch Program (NSLP) makes it possible for all school children in the United States to receive a nutritious lunch every school day.  The only people who will know your child is receiving benefits are the nutrition staff. Children receiving free or reduced-price meals are not identified to other students or adults.

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PROBLEM  Anywhere from 10 to 35 percent of schools did not supply students with low-fat lunches.  Just over 11 percent of the children were overweight in kindergarten, and 17 percent were overweight by the time they'd reached third grade.

HISTORY  The Lunch program became a federal project in In 1946 the program was a federally funded program. The law expanded from free lunches to reduced breakfast prices, milk, snack and summer meals for some students.

ELIGIBILITY AND ENROLLMENT  Children can be enrolled in the school lunch program in two ways. Parents can apply for the program by submitting information about their total household incomes through a simple application the school district provides

TRENDS IN SCHOOL LUNCH SPENDING AND PARTICIPATION

HEALTH AND NUTRITION  The school lunch program includes nutrition requirements for all subsidized meals. Despite these benefits, the safety, cost, and health of meals served by the school nutrition programs have come under some scrutiny.  Limited funds for school meals are negatively affecting any advances, especially as food prices rise. As of 2009, less than a third of schools even met existing nutrition requirements.

FOOD QUALITY  -Food is often highly processed, made in factories and shipped to school kitchens in bags, cans and boxes. Few school lunches include fresh fruits or vegetables.  -As costs and usage increased, the school lunch program faced the challenge of buying huge quantities of food at low prices, which reduced quality.

MAKING IMPROVEMENTS  -The transition to healthier meals in schools has been slow and difficult because it requires a major cultural shift and it costs more money. It will take many years to halt the obesity epidemic and overhaul the way we feed our children at school and at home.

SCHOOL LUNCHES VS. FAST FOOD  -The U.S. Department of Agriculture says the meat it buys for the National School Lunch Program "meets or exceeds standards in commercial products.“ This isn’t always the case.  -In the past three years, the government has provided the nation's schools with millions of pounds of beef and chicken that wouldn't meet the quality or safety standards of many fast-food restaurants.

LOWER FOOD COST  Work closer with the distributors  Food service workers need to get to best price point and top quality food.  Work with the farms in the community  Bring in fruits and vegetables that are grown close to the school.  Work with the governments federal funded food programs  Raise the cost of competitive foods and bring in vending machines.  The school will need to implement rules that need to be followed to qualify for these programs.  Change staff work schedules and use part-time employees.  The school will not need to pay benefits or vacation pay.  Raise the cost of a la carte items

ACTION PLAN  Get the students involved.  Meal planning, working in the cafeteria, learning life skills and critical thinking.  Join a task force or a nutrition committee  Seek out like minded people to raise the schools food I.Q. Teachers, students and administrators can all be included.  Plant a school garden  Garden based learning improves student motivation  Increases the consumption of fruits and vegetables  Improves the understanding of science concepts  Fundraising  Work with the school  Buy a Lunch – website where you can buy a lunch for any student.  Work with local businesses

CONCLUSION  The school lunch program faces many challenges that they need to overcome every day. First the school needs to know about proper nutrition and have well educated staff able to serve it. Next they must have student participation to prevent plate waste and last but not least the school must have a low food cost because every year the administrators and the food service workers struggle to keep the budget balanced.

SOURCES  health/articles/2009/03/04/school-lunches-too-fatty-and-sugary-critics- say?PageNr=2 health/articles/2009/03/04/school-lunches-too-fatty-and-sugary-critics- say?PageNr=2  programs programs  standards_N.htm standards_N.htm 