...a food substance to break that fast; breakfast. “The federal child nutrition program feeds over 50 million children a day, 31.6 million of whom receive free lunches.” Fig. A USDA (2011) Mortazavi (2011). Millions of children across the United States depend on a well balanced breakfast and lunch. Not only do these meals fuel the body, but it also fuels the minds to enhance comprehension and retaining what they learn. “For many, especially students from lower-income families enrolled in federally subsidized free and reduced-price lunch programs, these are the main meals of the day.” Grainger, Senauer, and Runge (2007). Revamping the National School Lunch program will help meet economic goal, provide healthier choices for pre-school, elementary and high school children across the nation. In 1966 the Child Nutrition Act (CNA) was passed to create a milk program, breakfast program, government funding to start the program and a preschool program (Mortazavi, 2011). Apart of the Child Nutrition Act of 1966, it had to be approved every five years, most recent being scheduled for 2009 but was passed for one year to introduce the current 2010 Healthy Hunger-Free Kids Act and the Farm Bill which President Obama signed in December 2010 Fig. B. Somodevilla (2010) (Mortazavi, 2011). This act was introduce to do two things, provide kids sufficient calories and consumes surplus commodities. “The HHFKA makes positive changes to existing legislation. Notably, it increases funding for the School...
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...Program. With this change, it became required for schools to increase the availability of fruits, vegetables, whole grains, and low-fat or fat free milk in school meals. It also includes reducing levels of sodium, saturated fat and trans fat in meals. On January 12, 2010 the U.S. Department of Agriculture published a purposed rule to update the nutrition standards for meals served in schools as part of the Healthy, Hunger Free Kids Act of 2010. The main focal point of the Healthy, Hunger Free Kids Act of 2010 was to improve child nutrition. The child obesity rate and the children who live in poverty that were going hungry were the economic issues that surrounded the act. “During 2007–2008, 20% of U.S. children aged 6–11 years and 18% of persons aged 12–19 years were obese, percentages that have tripled since 1980. Engaging children and adolescents in healthy eating and regular physical activity can lower their risk for obesity and related chronic diseases” (5‐Year Technical Assistance and Guidance Plan for Local School Wellness Policies, 2011). The program authorizes funding and sets the regulations of The National School Lunch Program. “The Healthy, Hunger-Free Kids Act allows USDA, for the first time in over 30 years, opportunity to make real reforms to the school lunch and breakfast programs by improving the critical nutrition and hunger safety net for millions of children” (United States Department of Agriculture, 2013). The National School lunch program is a federally...
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...As obesity has been a rising issue in the United States, the question of how to prevent this issue has been asked time and time again. As a way to address this question, Michelle Obama decided to push for a change. In 2010, Michelle devised the Healthy Hunger-Free Kids Act. In simplified form, this act was put into place to change the school lunch standards to include meals that were higher in nutrients and lower in fats, among other things. Some, out of the many, new regulations include replacing white bread with whole-grain or wheat, including either a fruit or vegetable in every meal, total fat of every meal must be less than or equal to 35% of the total calories, and total sugar levels must be less than or equal to 35% of the total calories or less than...
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...The Public Needs To Know Arlette Perez Professor Traci Wilmoth English Composition 115 2/07/2012 Childhood obesity has tripled in the past 30 years. In 1980, the obesity rate of 6-11 year olds was 6.5%; in 2008 it tripled to 19.6%. For toddlers and preschoolers aged 2-5, the obesity levels have risen from 5% to 12.4% in the same amount of time. Schools do not generally provide healthy food options, and kids with meal assistance plans have no choice but to consume unhealthy food items. Even kids with options often have an array of processed snacks, fried foods, sweets and sodas to purchase, and very few healthy options (Spark 2009). It is time to change the way our youth eats. According to a recent Brookings Institute report, health economists have estimated that obesity will cost the U.S. about $215 billion. The report identified the four major categories that contribute to that amount: direct medical costs, productivity costs, transportation costs and human capital costs (Hammond, Levine, 2010). In other words, obesity has a direct effect on four areas that usually have a direct effect on the American economy. With more than 60 percent of Americans considered at least overweight and one-third considered obese, according to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, it will not be long before obesity is an expected portion of taxpayer money (CDC.gov). Obesity does affect the economy, healthcare and unemployment. And it will take more than grassroots movements in...
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...Becky 11- 02-2013 Abstract The present and future wellbeing of children is affected by the type of food they eat. Since children get most of their calorie intake from school lunch and breakfast, schools contribute to their lifelong health and dietary patterns. Schools have to be models for healthy eating habits. Improving school meal program is very crucial in our children nutrition and health. Especially as childhood obesity is a big concern in our nation and it is a cause for many chronic illnesses like type 2 diabetes, blood pressure and high cholesterol. Different studies and researches have shown that school meals are risk factors for childhood obesity. In an effort to stop obesity and the associated health risks, the Healthy Hunger-Free Kids Act (HHFKA) was signed into law by President Barack Obama to change School Lunch Program (SLNP) and School Breakfast Program (SBP). The Law requires USDA to establish science based nutrition standards for all foods sold in schools during the school day. With the law signed there are different issues that come with it including the economic situation, the health of the population being served and the process and benefits of the program. Nutrition and Health: The Recent Changes into the School Lunch and Breakfast One of the issues related with the recent change in school lunch and breakfast is the economic situation. The government increased 6 cents per meal reimbursement for school lunch and breakfast program if the schools met...
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...INTRODUCING HEALTHY NUTRITIONAL ALTERNATIVES IN PALM BEACH COUNTY SCHOOLS Prepared for Dr. Arthur C. Johnson, Superintendent of Palm Beach County Schools Palm Beach County School Board 3340 Forest Hill Blvd., C-316 West Palm Beach, FL 33406 Prepared by Heather Ronga, CEOl Drink Healthy, Corporation July 21, 2013 Drink Healthy, Corporation 123 Main Street New Town, FL 33415 Phone (555) 123-4567 Fax (555) 123-4568 July 21, 2013 Dr. Arthur C. Johnson, Superintendent of Palm Beach County Schools Palm Beach County School Board 3340 Forest Hill Blvd., C-316 West Palm Beach, FL 33406 RE: Introducing Healthy Nutritional Alternatives in Palm Beach County Schools Dear Dr. Johnson: This proposal is for your review introducing healthy nutritional alternatives in Palm Beach County Schools. Drink Healthy, Corporation is in accordance with state and federal initiatives and the Florida Department of Education guidelines by providing and promoting healthy eating to your students and your athletes while advocating health awareness. The progression towards a healthier student body is nutrition such as fruit drinks, vegetable drinks, and simple snacks. This partnered with physical education will lead to great success for students. Furthermore, eating healthy in school will lessen the obesity rate and stop students from feeling as sluggish. Students will be more energetic and have a higher success in academics, throughout the day. Dr. Johnson implementing...
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...tax payers. With childhood obesity reaching all time highs president Barack Obama has implemented changes to what is required in the nations cafeterias. “The Healthy, hunger-free kids act, signed by President Barack Obama in 2010, requires all government-subsidized lunch programs to double the amount of fruits and vegetables they serve to children, and serve only whole grains for all grain products” (Allen, 2012) With these new requirements schools are mandated to meet comes additional cost that is not covered by the budget allocated for the school food programs. Allen (2012) found that the changes will take place in 2013-14, will increase the budget for the school program by $3.2 billion, per meal 14 cents, to the already established $11 billion school lunch program. With increased costs and no new funding the additional cost is passed on to the schools, Allen (2012) one school district Shenedehowa’s, lost $23,000 in a recent year, the first shortcoming in years. Schools have to find ways to fund these programs; Allen (2012) found how the previously mentioned school managed “The department dipped into its reserves to cover the shortage, caused by a combination of rising fuel and food prices.” Schools will continue to become creative to find new ways to fund The Healthy, Hunger-free Kids Act. For the President...
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...snack like foods and drinking more soda pops and sugar filled beverages. Today our youth’s consumption of fruits, vegetables, and whole grains are nowhere near the current recommendations. As a society, we need to educate our children to make smarter and healthier choices when food is involved. However, the average child attends school around seven hours a day, five days a week. That child has the option to eat what the school has prepared for breakfast and lunch, at least twice a day. Nanci Hellmich of USA Today reports, “Overall, kids consume about 30% to 50% of their calories while at school”. Therefore, schools should provide kids with access to more nutritious foods, items that are not only good for them, but that they can enjoy at the same time. Junk, greasy, and fatty food slows kids down; therefore kids need foods that can supply them with energy and the nutrition that their bodies need. The Healthy, Hunger-Free Kids Act of 2010 will achieve this by making serious improvements to federally funded school meal programs. As shown on Table 1 schools will provide children with...
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...School Lunches Remember those school lunches that they used to provide for us throughout elementary all the way up to high school, and if they did not they were about $2.50 a meal. Some kids hated them, others liked them and others just didn’t care as long as they had something to eat in between classes. The importance of school lunches is very high. Many kids always complain about the food, but for some it’s a blessing to them because that’s often their only meal due to their parent’s income. The lunches usually contained a milk, a juice of your choice and a small meal. Breakfast meals varied from cinnamon rolls, to French toast, to burritos, to pizza bagels. Lunch consisted of burritos again, salads, chicken, burgers, macaroni and cheese, chili cheese and beans with crackers or tostadas. And again, any of those meals along with a carton of milk and a juice were only $2.50, of...
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...recommendations than are their diets. Currently only 1%-2% of US children meet the recommended Dietary Guidelines for Americans, the national nutrition standards for dietary intake necessary for optimal health. Children's intake of fruits, vegetables, and whole grains does not even come close to current recommendations. If we know what our children need to be healthy, why don't we, as adults, fix the problem? Is it lack of education about nutrition; an inadequate food supply; the power of food marketing; lack of access to healthy, affordable foods; or a failure of will? One of the most important things we can do is provide children with access to healthful foods. The proposed Healthy, Hunger-Free Kids Act of 2010 will do that by making significant improvements to our federally funded school meal program. This act will...
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...obesity are spread out, and certain factors to this epidemic include lack of physical activity and dietary patterns. Changing eating and physical activity in children with the use of nutritional guides, work out DVDs and proactive parents can assist in decreasing child obesity (Ryder, 2011). Child Obesity is determined through BMI, body mass index. Children over age 2, or teens whose BMI is less than the 5th percentile are considered underweight. A child that ranges in the 5th percentile and less than the 85th percentile are at a healthy weight. In the 85th percentile to less than the 95th percentile are considered overweight. Equal to, or greater than the 95th percentile are considered obese. Today, about one in three American kids and teens is overweight or obese, nearly triple the rate in 1963. One major contributor to a child’s diet that affects their weight is beverages that include soda and juice boxes. The consumption of soda by children has increased throughout the last 20 years by 300 percent. Scientific studies have documented a 60 percent increase risk of obesity for every regular soda consumed per day. With the growing use of computers, and watching TV this is a big contributing factor as well that contributes to child obesity. We find that these activities take away the physical activity that children need to stay healthy. Sedentary lifestyles could possibly be more of a factor than the food and beverages children drink. Physical activity is embedded...
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...Program (SNAP) formerly known as the Food Stamp Program. With the ongoing cuts in state budgets and increases in unemployment, the percentage of the population receiving assistance is growing larger. Many hunger-relief organizations are working together to help people in need and Food Bank is one of them. Established in 1980, the Regional Food Bank of Oklahoma is a private, nonprofit organization with the mission of helping local charitable communities feed people in need. With the motto of “Fighting Hunger…. Feeding Hope”, this organization provides support in the form of food for children, the elderly, and families who cannot afford food. The Regional Food Bank of Oklahoma acts as the central collection agency for receiving all donation, which are further distributed to the different charitable programs. More than 700 charitable feeding programs in 53 central and western Oklahoma counties receive goods from the regional food bank. Food Bank serves two categories of program: emergency and non-emergency program. The emergency program includes food pantries, soup kitchens and emergency shelters. For non-emergency program provides food for children, senior citizens on fixed incomes, and working families who cannot make ends meet. One out of five children are at risk of hunger everyday. Nutrition deficiency can impact child growth and development. Their physical and social growth will be slower than those children who have adequate nourishment that can hinder them in reaching...
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...Business MGMT 520 Professor Melchiori November 5, 2012 Administrative Agency: Regulations The Administrative Agency The Federal administrative agency for which the chosen regulation controls is the United States Department of Agriculture, (USDA). The agency under the USDA for which the departmental proposed regulation falls is the Food and Nutrition Service, (FNS); the FNS works to reduce hunger among low-income populations providing greater access to higher nutritional standards with the aid of the U.S. agriculture (www.USDA.gov). The proposal addresses the administrative aspect of local educational agencies, (LEA), on the school lunch program and how best to ensure accurate documentation and assessment of family eligibility. The proposal affects section 304 of the Healthy, Hunger-Free Kids Act (Pub. L. 111-296) (www.USDA.gov). Why the Agency and Regulation is of Interest The proposed regulation is of interest due to the fact that it will directly affect the lives of thousands of low income children for which my job concerns. As a child case manager, approval of “free” lunches for low income households is often that bridge provides a large portion of daily and weekly meals for many clients. The regulation states that incomplete applications will not be approved; let it be noted that many parents lack the necessary data required to complete the application for school lunch in a timely manner. Due to this fact the amendment of the regulation will leave several...
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...Participation in the National Lunch Program Informative Paper / Revision Juan Diego VII Becerra Strayer University ENG 115 Doctor Ronnie Davis November 16th, 2015 The National Breakfast and Lunch Program The National School Lunch Program, between many other food-for-school related Federal programs, have a direct reimbursement formula for the schools that participate in the exchange of these type of healthy meals. The more the schools do in providing better meals, the higher the reimbursement and award will be. The programs have actually improved drastically in the way it operates and how it has already demonstrated improvement into the children’s health. Child Obesity According to an American Medical Association research study in 2014 (Ogden, Carroll, Kit, Flegal), obesity has increased between 1999 and 2011 and but there has been no change between 2009 and 2011. In the US many policy changes have been made to reduce obesity since 2002 according to the National Center for Chronic Disease Prevention and Health Promotion (CDC) (Brener, O'Toole, Kann, Lowry, Wechsler, 2009). Additionally, childhood obesity is an issue worldwide. Back in 2006, a British author from Guardian News, John Carvel, mentioned that junk food and lack of exercise were part of the major reasons of the childhood obesity increase in the UK. Likewise, the US has similar issues. More than one in six children in the US is obese, an overall increase from the 1970’s. This epidemic has caused...
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...implemented a new breakfast & lunch program, to include healthier choices amongst children, adolescents and teens eating in their school cafeterias every day. The program was designed to allow the children attending school to receive healthy, low cost or free meals while fighting childhood obesity and hunger. The National School Lunch Program is a federally-assisted program implemented across the nation within public or non-profit private schools and day cares with children high school age & under. The program itself is costing 11.1 billion dollars to run in 2012-13 which is only 5.73 percent of the US budget. The money it is costing the US to run the program is allowing 32 million children a chance to have at least two whole meals a day, with a possible snack if they participate in a school-based after school programs. The USDA also provides the schools participating with federal cash and commodity support. The program entails that for each child who receives free lunch, the school will get $2.86 cents back, for each child who receives reduced lunch the school will get $2.46 cents back & for each child who pays for lunch the school will get $.70 cents back ; this also entails that for every snack a child receives free the school will receive $.78 cents, for every snack a child receives reduced the school will receive $.39 cents and for every child who pays for snacks the school will receive $.07 cents. The schools are not only getting cash reimbursements but food also...
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