The Lunch Program in the United States

Alaimo, K., Oleksyk, S. C., Drzal, N. B., Golzynski, D. L., Lucarelli, J. F., Wen, Y., & Velie, E. M. (2013). Effects of changes in lunch-time competitive foods, nutrition practices, and nutrition policies on low-income middle-school children's diets. Childhood Obesity (Print), 9(6), 509. doi:10.1089/chi.2013.0052

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The author of this source has expounded on the growth and evolution of the lunch program in schools stationed in America and further examined how it has affected the health of children originating from families with low income and those living far away from their schools. This program came by because of the advancement and industrialization in America which resulted to people working far away from home and the schools their children attended. Thus, children could not go home for lunch as it was the tradition in the past. The factories in this era incorporated a feeding program for their employees and this program resulted in an increase in production among the workers. Public schools explored these new feeding programs which were being used by other firms with a specified lunch breaks and incorporated this idea in the public schools after observing its viability. The lunch period according to this source was inspired by the development which was being observed in the industrial sector back in the 1970s in the economy of the United States of America. This article is very sound on the school lunch program as it has stipulated the nutritional effects this program has on students in public schools more so among students with low economic power.

Baxter, S. D., Guinn, C. H., Royer, J. A., Hardin, J. W., Mackelprang, A. J., & Smith, A. F. (2009). Accuracy of children's school-breakfast reports and school-lunch reports (in 24-h dietary recalls) differs by retention interval. European Journal of Clinical Nutrition, 63(12), 1394-1403. doi:10.1038/ejcn.2009.107

This article enlightens the composition of this program and the types of food stuff and breakfast which were proposed for teenage students. Tea and coffee were proposed to be given to learners in addition to the white and brown bread which were buttered or toasted according to ones preferences. This program provided a wholesome and dietary breakfast to students. This proposition in the lunch program served well to take care of the dietary requirements of teenagers in schools who are characterized by a rapid growth and development if their body. This program is also characterized by some regulations which dictate the types of foodstuffs and drinks which are prohibited in the schools lunch program. Alcohol, wine and other beverages with any alcoholic contents are prohibited in the program in the United States. The meals served to students are prescribed by nutritionists and scientists in the nutrition and dietary fields of study. This ensured that this lunch program was of help to the students and did not result in nutritionally related health problems to students in public schools. This source is very resourceful on the school lunch program in the United States and it is recommended to researchers on this vast topic.

Bhatia, R., Jones, P., & Reicker, Z. (2011). Competitive foods, discrimination, and participation in the national school lunch program. American Journal of Public Health, 101(8), 1380-1386. doi:10.2105/AJPH.2011.300134

The author of this academic source has highlighted the discrimination that some students face after implementation of the school lunch program in public and private education institutions in the United States of America. The lunch program is financed by the government board of education in America as it had been the case in New York where the board of education financed essential requirements for this program in more than five hundred schools. This source has cited that the lunch program in schools is responsible for introducing immigrants to the American diets and enhancing its appreciation by immigrant students in the United States of America. This program was developed to help the needy children to have access to quality food which contains all the important dietary requirements in the human body. This material has cited that with the increasing food requirements for this program, schools started to cultivate food themselves and source food from farmers in the rural areas of United States of America. The deficit was funded by sponsors some who were legal sponsors and other sponsors from various businesses and firms. This article has cited some problems faced by this program such as satisfying the different dietary preferences of teenagers, especially in colleges.

Bontrager Yoder, A. B., & Schoeller, D. A. (2014). Fruits and vegetables displace, but do not decrease, total energy in school lunches. Childhood Obesity (Print), 10(4), 357-364. doi:10.1089/chi.2014.0017

This source has highlighted the importance of incorporation of fruits as complements to add minerals and vitamins to the diet. This article has further disapproved the critics of the lunch program who cited that addition of fruits and various vegetables led to a decrease in the energy giving foods in this program. This article has clarified that the addition of vegetables in the program served to top up the nutritional components in this program but did not result in a decrease in any nutritional component. This source has highlighted the importance of this program citing both its pros and cons. The lunch program has been successful in the United States leading to it being adopted in Europe and some parts of Africa. This suggests that the program has been successful and has met its expectations of increasing output in the education sector. The social welfare of children from poor families was improved as a result of this program in public schools in the United States of America. This source is recommended to researchers on this topic and other scholars who seek to deepen their knowledge in this subject. The information is timely and more concise thus suitable to be used as a reference.

Cullen, K. W., Watson, K. B., & Dave, J. M. (2011). Middle-school students school lunch consumption does not meet the new institute of medicine's national school lunch program recommendations. Public Health Nutrition, 14(10), 1876-1881. doi:10.1017/S1368980011000656

This source has in detail expounded the modalities in the school lunch program in the United States of America. This article has gone further to cite some of the shortcomings of this project for example, not meeting the all the recent recommendations made by the medicine institutions in America. This source has further highlighted the rationale of this project in improving the quality nutrition among children and eradicating malnutrition which is prevalent among children whose families are not economically endowed. This peer reviewed source has expounded the success of this program in enhancing food security and expanding the choices of children who come from poor families and as a result of little economic power are left with few choices and in some scenarios no choice at all. By doing this, this program has affected the performance of students in schools positively and development of good behaviors. Children from poor families could engage in bad vices in their quest to get food but this program has ensured that the crime rate and other queer behaviors previously prevalent in schools have drastically diminished since the introduction of the lunch program.

Dejgard Jensen, J., Smed, S., Raun Morkbak, M., Vogt-Nielsen, K., & Malmgreen, M. (2013). Economic viability of new launched school lunch programmes. British Food Journal, 115(7), 1038-1053. doi:10.1108/BFJ-05-2011-0128

The author of this journal has highlighted the importance of this problem in the education sector. Children who have access to limited quantity and quality of food are prone to health problems and general poor wellbeing. Food insecurity among students in educational institutions contributes to poor performance in academics and other emotional problems. Poor cognitive behaviors have been found to be more prevalent among hungry children. Hungry children, on the other hand, have poor coordination and concentration in class, thus are not able to grasp concepts well in class. This source has extensively explained the problems associated with hunger, it has also portrayed how hunger affects the quality of education in America. This source has further highlighted the milestones gained by this lunch program since it was launched in the United States of America. This program has been found to reduce deaths among teens which were resulting from the poor resistance of their bodies to diseases as a result of poor nutrition. This source has further cited studies done on nutrition among children in public schools; the studies further ascertain that this program has gained a lot of mileage in improving the health status and general well-being of children in public schools.

GRAINGER, C., SENAUER, B., & RUNGE, C. F. (2007). Nutritional improvements and student food choices in a school lunch program. The Journal of Consumer Affairs, 41(2), 265-284. doi:10.1111/j.1745-6606.2007.00081.x

This peer-reviewed journal has cited that the lunch program in the United States of America has increased the choices among children originating from poor families in the society of America. Previously, children from poor families who were learning in public schools had poor choices as a result of their little purchasing power. This journal has highlighted that this program has been responsible for the upward improvement trends in performance in public academic institutions. This article has further cited the history of this program, how it was founded and what inspired it to be implemented in the United States of America. This source has explained how under nutrition results from poor education among the poor who channel most of their resources to treating disease resulting from under nutrition and thus remain with meager resources which cannot procure educational services for their children. The lunch program has resulted in an increase in the number of Americans and immigrants seeking education in public institutions and thus improved the expertise of the workforce in America. This journal cites that the more the young generations are educated in any country, the promising the future economy will be in such a nation. This source is recommended for those doing research on the effects of under nutrition on education in public institutions.

Hawkes, A. P., Weinberg, S. L., Janusz, R., Demont-Heinrich, C., & Vogt, R. L. (2016). An innovative method of measuring changes in access to healthful foods in school lunch programs: Findings from a pilot evaluation. PloS One, 11(1), e0146875. doi:10.1371/journal.pone.0146875

This source is resourceful as it has highlighted all the experimental pilot tests and experiments of the lunch program in the United States before it was fully adopted in all educational public institutions. This information helps one to understand in depth this program, the challenges it faced before it became successful and the positive effects it has made in the education sector in America. This source has further cited the increasing rates of food security in America which are attributed to the incorporation of the lunch program in public institutions in America. This source has pointed out the ways in which this program has contributed to the drastic increase in food security namely: it provides meals which are wholesome to children who would otherwise stay hungry, this improves the health care among this kids thus, reducing the amount of money spent by the family on healthcare thus impro...