Food Policy Reform in Schools - Research Paper Example

RUNNING HEADING: Food Policy Reform in Schools Food Policy Reform in Schools Introduction The program being assessed is the National School Lunch Program (NSLP) for schools that aim to provide a wholesome and nutritious meal for school children. It is one of the largest nutrition assistance programs for schools and aims to provide more than 30 million lunches on a daily basis to school children. The average cost of the program is about $8 billion. The lunch is provided either at a subsidized rate or free, depending on the socioeconomic status of the child’s parents. For the lower socioeconomic groups, the food is free, whereas for the upper group children, it is provided at a cost but a subsidized rate. The main objective of the program is to deliver a healthy and nutritious diet for children at school and to develop good eating habits and promote healthy eating practices during the growing period when nutrition is utmost important for the development of the child (USDA 2008). More than 94% of the schools have subscribed to the NSLP and this is provided under the National School Lunch Act 1946 that was adopted as a policy by the Harry Truman Administration. About 17% of the federal budget meant for food and nutrition assistance programs actually goes to the NSLP (USDA 2008). During the implementation and development of the program initially in the 1940’s and the 1950’s, greater effort was being laid on addressing poverty, starvation and malnutrition in children. However, today, the concern is much different, and seems to be an equal challenge that was present during the baby days of the NSLP. There is a growing concern of obesity and being overweight in children, especially in the lower socioeconomic groups who find it difficult to address their health needs (Rogers 2010). The NSLP was earlier meant to help children who were eating a diet at home to eat more and to meet their higher calorie and protein demand. Besides, there are children coming from diverse family backgrounds having diverse food nutrition and food needs and it would often be difficult to cater to their tastes. Hence, it would be difficult to meet the various needs through one lunch program. There are other concerns also including the sustaining the program through the federal funding and donations may create difficulties, facing stiff competition from the junk food sector, unnecessarily creating a crunch for the agricultural produce, and outdated structure of the program. In this paper, we would analyze one of the problems faced by the NSLP, look at the viable alternatives, and develop a solution to resolve the same (US Government Accounting Office 2003). Define and analyze the problem One of the main concerns of the NSLP is that the objectives of the program may not be in line with the requirements of the children today. When the program was being implemented during its baby days, its main aim was to address malnutrition, weakness and starvation in children and provide them with a nutritious meal for at least once daily. However, today, the program is considered as a factor that is causing obesity and unhealthy eating in children, and there is a concern on the quality of foods that is currently being served via the program. There is a growing concern whether the program is worsening the effect of obesity in the population in order to support the agricultural sector. Even the poor today are no more undernourished and are facing a stiffer problem with obesity. The program is encouraging the overconsumption of energy and fats and is also increasing the amount of food being consumed by children. As children of the poor are provided by food at lower costs, they are encouraged to eat more, not helping in reducing obesity and in the process developing eating habits that would worsen the problem further in life. The child when he or she grows into an adult would be prone to several health risks including diabetes, cardiovascular diseases, arthritis, stroke, etc. There were concerns as to why the NSLP was implemented. One of the main reasons why it was implemented was to address the military shortcomings. During the 1930’s due to the Great Depression, children were starving, and when these children become teens and young adults during the 1940’s it was difficult to recruit them to the military. However, in today’s world, with the chances of war being less and need to maintain public health at any cost, the objectives of the NSLP are no longer the same. In fact, it is found that obesity occurs in about 25 to 30% of the teens and adolescents, and even if there was a concern of war, they would not be able to fifth for the nation (Rogers 2010). The Child Nutrition Act 1966 put forth by the Johnson Administration established the content and the nutritional standards for each meal. The Act is not flexible as it does not address the current health needs of the school children. The Unhealthy eating habits are not only affect the nutritional status of the children but also the national budget as huge costs are spend on obtaining these foods and on meeting the health-related problems with obesity (Rogers 2010). The problem faced with the provision of healthy eating choices to children may be due to several reasons. Firstly, it may be difficult to implement and enforce essential nutritional requirements. Secondly, there was a shortage of resources, budgets and time available. Thirdly, schools itself do not want to limit the food and drinks being sold in the school premises as this can provide revenue and additional budgetary. Often these compete with the Lunch program and at times students may additionally consume food provided beyond the lunch programs that are available in the school premises. Fourthly, since the school lunch program is already set to provide the current food items it would be costly to change the same (USDA 2008). Construct policy alternatives that might be considered to deal with the problem Looking at the nature of the problem, there may be a very few alternatives to resolve this problem, and in order to resolve the problem there is a need to adopt the same as a policy. The first approach suggested is to develop an alternative much like what fast-food joints are offering, wherein the food served looks very attractive but on the other hand, they would be made healthier, with the efforts on to serve low-fat and low-carbohydrate diet and include more of salads and fruits. For example, the food can be processed and served in a manner that is similar served in fast-food outlets, the only thing being that this food is much healthier. The experiments have been tried out in many states and have succeeded in increasing healthier eating habits in children (USDA 2010). The second approach chosen is to educate children about healthier eating options. Nutrition and eating should be included in curriculum and the problem of eating unhealthy food should be given more awareness to the school children. Nutritionists and dieticians should be greatly involved in this effort. Besides the students should also be assessed of their knowledge in food and nutrition and in this way would automatically pick up healthy eating habits (GAO 2003). The third approach would be to ban the sale and availability of junk foods at schools. Once these foods are not made available, they would be better aligned to consume a healthier diet served under the NSLP. Keeping junk food outside schools would also result in the students being more focused on eating healthier food and in this way developing healthier eating habits. Schools should be advised to develop the availability of food in the school campus as a policy. For example, one school in Rhode Island replaced the school cafeteria that sold candy and potato chips with raisins and rice cookies. The students did not hesitate to buy the same, and many other schools in Rhode Island followed suit (USDA 2008). The fourth approach being suggested is to develop an integrated program that would combine meeting the health, nutritional, educational and physical needs of the children under one program. This would in turn address the problem faced by the child in a more holistic manner than it was dealt with in the past. Based on the health, physical and the educational requirements of the child, the diet of the child would be changed in order to meet the nutritional requirements. Hence, if it is found that a child is obese and does not have much of physical activity, then the integrated program would be able include greater physical activity for the child at school and also provide a low-fat and low-calorie diet. On the other hand, if it is found that a student native of an Asian nation finds it difficult to consume Western Diet, efforts should be made to provide Asian foods. This may be required as it is found that people from other ethnic groups are numerous and may face a problem if not provided their original diet (Gundersen 2011). Develop evaluation criteria most suitable for the problems and alternatives Though each of the approaches suggested has its own benefits and limitations, it would be ideal to choose an option that provides the greatest benefit for the students. The fourth option of using an integrated approach seems more ideal and complete. It would include an educational approach, nutritional approach, physical education approach and a health program approach. The educational approach would include the second approach of involving nutritionists and dieticians in school education. Hence students would be aware of the right food choices. The nutritional approach would include providing healthier foods for children and also being flexible with the type of food available as students from different cultures and ethnic groups are able to eat food that suits them. Having physical activities would ensure that students are able do exercises and physical activities whilst at school and also be educated in the same to ensure that the chances of obesity would be reduced and this would be taken as a habit for the rest of their lives. Lastly, by including the school-based health program, efforts can be made to ensure that the nutritional needs follow the health requirements. Assess the alternatives The first approach suggested is to serve food in a manner similar to what is being served at junk food joints such as including attractive packaging, brand names, etc. Students can be served healthier food and would be able to develop healthier eating habits. However, this approach may not solve the long-term problem of reducing obesity and unhealthy eating in school children. This is mainly because students may still find junk food attractive and would want to consume the same after school hours or after they finish the life in school. The second approach being suggested is to educate and create greater awareness in school children regarding healthier eating options. This looks as a very good alternative as nutritionists and dieticians would be involved in educating and motivating students towards healthier eating and creating awareness of junk food. However, this option seems to be incomplete as children may find it difficult to use their knowledge without changes made with the structure of the NSLP Program in order to provide greater choices for eating foods based on their requirements. The third approach of limiting the sale of unhealthy food at the school canteens may be a good option temporarily but not ideal in the long-run as students would still not be educated of the ill-effects of consuming junk food. Such students may still crave for junk food and may consume the same out of campus or following completion of school studies. Students may not find any restrain in consuming junk food later in life. Draw conclusions Currently, there is a huge health crisis that has struck several developing nations of the world as obesity and overweight have resulted in serious health problems for the population. The schooling period is one during which healthy eating habits can be inculcated and the nutritional foundation for the child can be set. There is a strong need to develop critical changes in the NSLP as the objectives of the program are outdated and do not meet with the current problems faced by the population (USDA 2008). The academic requirements of a state may not permit inclusion of the nutrition education as a part of the syllabus and hence efforts should be made to include this under the syllabus along with having nutritionists and dieticians involving in teaching students. There is also a need to include the current health program along with the nutrition programs in order to deal with the nutritional problems faced by the students (US GAO 2003). Bibliography Gundersen, C. (2011). ‘The impact of the National School Lunch Program on child health: A nonparametric bounds analysis.’ Journal of Econometrics, doi: 10.1016. http://people.virginia.edu/~jvp3m/abstracts/SchoolLunch.pdf Rogers, C. (2010). Healthy School Lunches: A Real Solution for So Many Problems. Retrieved on May 10, 2012, from Web: http://pcrm.org/media/commentary/healthy-school-lunches-a-real-solution-for-so-many USDA (2008). The National School Lunch Program: Background, Trends, and Issues. Retrieved on May 10, 2012, from Web: http://www.ers.usda.gov/publications/err61/err61.pdf United States General Accounting Office (2003). School Lunch Program. Retrieved on May 10, 2012, from Web: http://www.gao.gov/new.items/d03506.pdf Read More