#ThanksMichelleObama Tweets

Many of you may have read that the hashtag #ThanksMichelleObama has been making its rounds this past week.  Highschoolers have been taking pictures of their cafeteria school lunches and posting them to show how unappealing the food is.

Taken by Hunter Whitney with the caption
"Had a very #healthylunch today.  The apple definitely made up for the "mystery mush" #ThanksMichelleObama"

Like many, I support offering healthy lunches in school cafeterias and I like the steps the First Lady has made.  It is vital for a student to be properly nutritionally nourished in order to perform well in school.  For some students it is the only meal of the day that can be depended on.  Unfortunately, if this was served to me I would probably not eat it.  

Some schools have had a very difficult time transitioning into the new USDA regulations.  One of the most wide spread of the problems is getting the students to eat what is on the menu.  According to Peggy Lawrence, director of nutrition at the Rockdale County Public School District in Georgia, "If the kids don't eat the food, then all I have is healthy trash cans" (Huffington Post).  

I believe that if we are going to expect students to make healthier food choices it is imperative to show them that healthy food is delicious.  If the healthy lunch that is being served is the only experience they have with that food and it looks like something you would feed your dog, then they are unlikely to be excited about it or to choose it in the future.  Some may come to even equate healthy food with being gross.

Hunter Whitney's picture and the many others uploaded to twitter may have been an exaggeration of how unappealing the lunches are, but are still a problem.  If the lunches are limited to only a certain number of calories and a portion of the lunch is deemed inedible by the student, then they are not  receiving the needed nutrition for that meal.   It is wonderful to hear that nutritional improvements are being made to the food offered, but I believe it is of equal importance to make the lunches look appetizing so as to encourage the students to try new things and view healthy food positively.


Sources:
http://www.huffingtonpost.com/2014/05/05/schools-change-healthier-lunch-rules_n_5267816.html