Whenever you bring up the topic of school lunch, students regurgitate at the very thought. Chewy french fries, rubber tots, and soggy cookies is enough to make almost any student walk out of the cafeteria. But what do you need to know when it rolls around to lunchtime?

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     School lunches definitely have a deserved reputation. Anyone who’s stepped inside of a Public School Lunchroom anywhere across America can immediately recall the good, the bad, and downright repulsive sections of the lunch. It’s gained a reputation as a necessary evil. Everyone needs to eat, but what’s offered isn’t exactly appetizing.

     “I've seen someone cut themselves with a fry. I’ve seen cheese that looks green. I have also seen someone nail a nail in with one of their french fries. Sometimes their lunch milk expires in 2-10 months. Not only that, the food is bland. It needs some salt, or to actually correctly make and bake it.” says Marco Saso, an 8th-grade student at Beck. What’s even more concerning is the lack of healthy food. The food is fatty, sodium-filled, and generally not good for the students. There is no doubt that school lunch is feared by the masses.

 

     These opinions are generally accepted to be the majority, but what do the statistics say? When 266 Beck students were surveyed about their opinions on the topic, 22.2% of people said school lunches were absolutely repulsive, 41% said they could use some work, 13.9% said they were acceptable, a mere 2.6% said that the school lunches were delicious, and 15% said that they had never even tried a school lunch before (as well as people that chose “other” and gave similar replies). It seems that the generalization that students think school lunches are unlikable has some merit. What’s more of a surprise, is that 15% had never even tried one before. It’s clear that once you take a look around the lunchroom, school lunches are not the popular choice. Why eat a meal that’s generally considered disgusting when you can eat a meal sourced from your own home? This would explain why some students hadn’t even tried the lunches. But what about students who can’t afford the provided lunch? Out of the same 266 people, 67.3% of people said the school lunches should still be free, 6.4% said they should not be free, and 26.3% could not make a decision due to their lack of understanding of the school's budget and resources.

     “I feel like certain lunches should be free, '' Beck student Summer Romero states. “But some of them are pricey. But I understand that they work hard.” Kids Need to eat, but so do the workers and manufacturers. Schools don’t have infinite resources, and having their limited budget spent on high-quality school lunches is a big decision. That limited budget can lead the school to drastic choices to help save money, yet sacrifice the quality of school lunches. There’s a surprising twist about the school lunches you may not know about. Many of the school lunch providers, such as major companies like Aramark, who provide lunches at Beck, also provide lunches for prisons. Yes, the schools are receiving the same food that prisons receive. So what on earth is going on?

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     Despite what some may believe, school lunches are a problem throughout the Nation, and have been a problem for almost a century. American School Lunch programs from the government started in the 1930s, in a time of despair when the Great Depression hit the U.S.. Families found that they could no longer stably feed themselves, and worst of all, they could not feed their children. The Government enacted plans to help feed kids in school during Lunchtime. But money was scarce, people would eat whatever was edible. It didn’t matter if it was healthy or of suitable quality. If it was cheap and edible, it was on the table. One of the most famous attempts to aid the nation in its newfound Lunch Crisis was First Lady Michelle Obama, and the “Let’s Move” campaign. In 2010, President Barack Obama passed the “Healthy Hunger Free Kids Act”, part of the “Let’s Move” campaign. This was supposed to significantly improve the nutritional value of food in the school lunchroom. For example, these new standards demanded more fruits, vegetables, grains, and low-fat milk, while less sodium and fat were on the menu. The act went into effect in 2012. However, the act went through much criticism, and many say it failed to reach its goals of making an impact at lunchtime. Some say that the act had too many loopholes in it. For example, the potato in french fries could pass for a vegetable, as well as ketchup and the sauce on pizza. It’s much easier for a company that creates lunches for schools to claim that they meet the standards, then waste millions of dollars converting factories to make healthier (and more expensive) food. Others claim that the movement failed due to its lack of information on nutrition. The general opinion of “what makes a food healthy” changes more than you would think. While now ingredients like sugar are in the crosshairs of society, in the 1920’s it was butter, which saw the popularization of the butter “clone” margarine. If the movement didn’t focus on the ingredients that matter, what good would it do? Everyone who enters the Lunchroom now can simply observe the results of the program at mealtime.

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     So if the lunch is this flawed, what are we to do? Despite what the situation may seem like, there are many things that we can do. First, we can advocate for healthier options on the menu. If our voices are heard, we can make sure the school’s resources are funneled into causes that matter. If you’re able to, bring a homemade lunch instead for a high-quality and healthy alternative. Finally, spread the information. The more people that know of the history and information on the lunch, the more people will be willing to help make the cafeteria a better place for everyone.