If you ask most people in America about cafeteria food they will probably think of something along the lines of long lines where mean old lunch ladies plop some rock-hard meat loaf and mushy goop on your tray that you have 20 minutes to shovel down. But have you ever thought about the millions of meals schools provide to kids who would otherwise go hungry? The stigma around cafeteria food embedded in Americans’ minds from the movies, cartoons, and their own experiences show the need for improvement in school meals.
Change is live in action. Thanks to programs like FUTP 60, organizations like the National Dairy Council, and people who care, many kids today would describe to you their positive school lunch experiences, including smoothies for breakfast and a veggie bars at schools. It sure is a hard feat to provide desirable food to fuel the children of America on a budget and under so many health guidelines. Thankfully, there are powerful, passionate figures across America that care about school meals and are taking action to improve them.
As a member of the Youth Council, I was recommended to be the student representative for a committee “designing a national summit to revolutionize school meals”. This committee, composed of major leaders in the food-service industry, met in Chicago on November 9th and 10th. What gave me so much hope is these leaders flew in from across America and put in their time and energy for the health and wellness of American youth. As I look across the list of people who attended this summit, I see director of this, chief executive of that, and there is my name on the last page, the 12th grade high school student. It was amazing to see all these major figures wanting to work with me on how to improve the quality and participation of school meals.
At this meeting, what really opened my eyes is that it is not just the taste of cafeteria food that needs improvement for students to start enjoying their meals. It is the whole school meal experience that matters, including the atmosphere of the cafeteria, presentation of the food, and time for students to eat. It was amazing to see all we did in just two days planning a national summit, which included how we would promote and get the right people to the summit, what we would do at the summit, and everything that would be done after the summit to bring change. I am truly honored to be a part of this committee and look forward to see the impact it has on the students of America.
John
Youth Council Leader
Illinois
12th Grade
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