Healthy Hunger-Free Kids Act

Andrew Reid

AG 160

Debate Points

As a result of the Healthy Hunger-Free Kids Act, proposed by the First Lady Michelle Obama, the USDA now regulates the funding of school lunch programs for children. Although at first this seemed like a positive action, it is negatively impacting schools and needs to be revoked. If this stays in place the participation in school lunch programs will continue to drop. There are multiple points that show how the negatives of this situation are outweighing the few positives.

* Although the portions are healthier, they are much smaller and insufficient to some students, specifically those who are active in sports and need the energy. The government says this program is in place to cut down on calorie consumption of the obese kids of the nation, not thinking of the physically stable children who didn’t need a change in their diet.

* This program has led to a major decrease in school lunch participation among the children. Because of the new food choices, small portions, and influx in meal price kids are packing lunch more and more. In some areas there is, “as much as a 70 percent drop-off in school lunch program participation since the new standards took effect.” (Earth Talk).

* The government passed this legislation saying they did it because of children’s health. But many feel that it’s not even about that. Rep. John Kline says this, “This is about spending and the role of government and the size of government — a debate about whether we're listening to our constituents or not." (Food Processing). The prices for this program make the schools pay more for their food in the cafeteria, which in turn takes more money away from families with kids in the system. Ultimately the government is the one making profit.

It’s clear that this program, although meant to help, is doing more bad then good. It is affecting the student athletes, the families of students, and the schools themselves. If it stays instated and the negative...