NSLP Today/Cultural CapitalToday, the National School Lunch program helps many students across the country. It is defined as, "a large and important child nutrition program that is a vital component of the social safety net for children in low-income households" (Gundersen, 2011). Clearly, the NSLP is a vital source of food during the school day for so many children throughout the U.S. While there are many pro's and con's, it is very useful, and has been since 1946, for so many people. With the improvements since the original passing of the act, it is the best it can be today. The cultural capital of the NSLP is that students who can afford will pay for their lunches, allowing the students who do not have money to pay to get lunches for free.
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Statistics"Roughly two-thirds of the 5 billion meals served under the program each year are free or are sold at a reduced price." (Johnson, 2011)
This is interesting, because it means that students still have to pay in order to get the special lunch program. |
"Every school day, more than 19 million children in the United States receive free or reduced-price lunches through the National School Lunch Program" (Gundersen, 2011)
This is a lot of students, and many times it is not even obvious who is on the program to other students, so no students have to feel different about being in the program. |
"38% of students who routinely eat school lunch were overweight or obese, as compared to only 24.4% of children who bring their own meals" (Rourke, 2012)
This is interesting, because this means that there must be an issue with the nutrition standards for the NSLP. |
"Through the program, nearly 100,000 schools and institutions serve lunches each day. Of the total 30 million students served:
Depending on how bad a family's poverty is, a student may still have to pay full price through the NSLP. |