Task Force: Redesigning School Lunches
Congratulations!
Your published letter to the superintendent of your local school district about school lunches went viral and has attracted the attention of the Department of Education. Now, you are being asked to redesign school lunch programs at a national level to meet the concerns of students and parents alike.
Why Are We Doing This?
Federal regulations require schools to offer students lunch between 10am to 2pm. Aside from this, students and parents throughout various school districts have expressed concerns about the food that is served during the designated time period. Here, we ask you to consider what it means to have a healthy lunch and solve issues parents and students have with school lunches.
Steps:
- Research information about school lunches and healthy eating programs.
- Then, try to come up with requirements and guidelines that should be adopted by schools on a national level.
- What does it mean for a lunch to be healthy?
- What are some concerns students and parents have about school lunches?
- What kinds of meals are served at your school? What are some strengths and weaknesses of them? What would you change?
- Describe what kinds of food groups each meal served should ensure.
- How will your guidelines accommodate students with various dietary needs and restrictions?
- What kinds of items will NOT be on the menu?
- Try to design an ideal menu for 2-3 days of your healthy lunch program.
- Think through the possible objections that someone could have about your school lunch program and how you would answer them.
- Share with the group and see if you can convince them that your redesigned school lunch guidelines and requirements solve the concerns of parents and students throughout the country.
Things to Keep in Mind:
- You don’t have to worry about answering all possible objections, but you should have some defense of why you think your reasons are more important.
- Your plan should include things that could realistically be implemented.