Changing School Foods by Emily Ascencio

Dietary Requirements

asceek7296 — 2026-05-07 17:37:55 UTC

More than 30 million children depend on the National School Lunch Program for a free or low-cost nutritious meal. These lunches are designed to meet U.S. Department of Agriculture nutrition standards and align with the Dietary Guidelines for Americans (DGAs).

But new guidelines, Dietary Guidelines for Americans, 2025–2030, released last month by the Department of Health and Human Services and USDA, may pose challenges to the precise work of school meal planning. Experts say that they lack clarity and make recommendations that many school cafeterias will find difficult to deliver on.

asceek7296 — 2026-05-07 17:42:19 UTC

School food tends to look unapetising and unedable, causing students to not eat, and lacking the energy they need for the school day. If school lunches looked more appealing then more students would be eating.

Dinner at 10 am?

asceek7296 — 2026-05-07 17:43:57 UTC

At Wayne Memorial High School, the earliest lunch student have is at 10am, and we're being served dinner foods. This throws off our dietary balance, causing our bodies a lack of nutrition. If the school were to have more breakfast meals, then students could have that nutritional balance, and gain more energy for the early morning.

asceek7296 — 2026-05-10 14:40:33 UTC

School Lunches Around the World

asceek7296 — 2026-05-11 17:11:00 UTC

Curious about what school lunch around the world looks like? From different lunch customs to different menu staples, there are so many unique options from tray to tray around the world. To satisfy your wanderlust, here’s a look at what kids eat at lunchtime from all around the globe.

The Food Pyramid

asceek7296 — 2026-05-11 17:13:15 UTC

The Food Pyrimid is important to know we are getting enough of the foods we need to stay healthy, while showing us how much of the different kinds we should consume in a day.

Meal Timeline

asceek7296 — 2026-05-11 17:16:16 UTC

Often times students receving a school lunch eat early in the morning. However, the food served is often large portions of dinner meals. This graph shows what kind of meals should be eaten when in a day.

At home lunches

asceek7296 — 2026-05-11 17:19:42 UTC

One way to solve this problem is for students to bringlunches from home. This can help them receive the right portions fit for them, with the proper nutrients consumed. However, many students don't know what to bring that will stay fresh by the time lunch comes. This website shares many possible lunches students can make the night before that will stay fresh they next day.

Business that offer school lunches at breakfasts

asceek7296 — 2026-05-11 17:22:33 UTC

These businesses offer large portions of breakfast foods for schools to offer to kids during the early lunches.

Statstics

asceek7296 — 2026-05-11 17:26:05 UTC

While practical, many schools only offer a large variety of foods that are not friendly to certain dietary restrictions. This chart shows the amount of students with a glucose allergy that cannot eat the foods due to health restrictions.