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During lunch breaks at elementary and middle school in the USA, kids don’t always have healthy options. Is it the schools’ fault or a cultural entanglement?

Sadly, most school cafeterias in the United States are not serving healthy meals. Are parents to blame for that?

There is no doubt that every child should have access to nutritious meals. Do school managers and public education government officials responsible for that?

This a very serious problem that needs to be addressed immediately. Are french fries and ketchup good substitutes for vegetables and fruits?

Well, most children in Western countries are overweight. According to the World Health Organization (WHO) child obesity can lead to problems later in life – such as heart disease, diabetes, and cancer. We should do everything we can to help children maintain a healthy weight.

Children need to eat healthy foods at every meal, including school lunch. In 2010, the government passed the Healthy, Hunger-Free Kids Act. This law required that school lunches have lower sodium, less fat, and more fresh fruits and vegetables. But do kids really want to eat salad? Are they throwing their fresh apples into the trash and eating chips instead?

The key is to make healthy food in school lunch more appealing to kids. Fresh vegetables can be mixed into pasta sauce. High-fat beef burgers can be replaced with lean turkey burgers. Strawberries and fresh melon can be served with a yogurt dipping sauce. Nutrition is important for everyone, but especially for children. More time, money, and effort should be invested in making school lunches both healthy and delicious. Enhancing the quality of school lunches will also improve the lives of the children who eat them.