The Importance of School Lunch Programs

When I think about societal crises, one that tops my list is homelessness and hunger. I grew up rough and heavily depended on our school lunch program. We had a breakfast and lunch program, and by the grace of God, I qualified for free lunch. That was at least two meals a day for me. So when I didn’t know if I would have a meal at home, I could stock up and live to see the next day. Not to mention when the lights were out or when there was no hot water to take a bath. But I digress.

Over the years, our students at the Riverhead Charter school have been very vocal about the taste of lunches. Districts sometimes contract with food vendors and lose sight of the end-users who eat the food. We think too heavily about compliance and reimbursement. By relying on the latter, we discount the actual quality of the food.

Food vendors bring you their best for the initial tasting. I propose that for the initial tasting, we should always involve the students. The students are the young people that are eating the food. Their taste should be the only thing that matters. Unfortunately, in most instances in education, the students are often the last people thought about in the decisions made by schools.

My experience as a poverty-adjacent young person forces me to think more critically about these systems. Growing up as a young person who heavily depended on school lunch, I keenly understood how important it is for the food to taste good. I can’t begin to tell you how much food gets wasted in school cafeterias daily.

My thoughts on how to not waste food in schools are the following:

• Start a backpack program and send home food to students and families.
• Know your consumers. If a student is asking for seconds, never deny that student or make them feel targeted for being hungry.
• Contact your local food pantry and set up a delivery program for uneaten food.

#schoollunch #foodinsecurity #Homelessness