Schools across the nation, including McKinley High School, have been taking small steps to improve school meals as part of a United States Department of Agriculture campaign. More vegetables and fruits have been added to the school lunches. This is one step schools are taking to improve student diets. More than 31 million students take part in the National School Lunch Program and more than 12 million participate in the School Breakfast Program. It is important that schools like McKinley High take steps to ensure a healthy breakfast and lunch for their students.

As part of her Let’s Move! campaign, First Lady Michelle Obama is encouraging healthier food in schools. The campaign started in February 2010. Its goal is to lower the rates of child obesity by changing the way America’s children eat and exercise. Obama dedicates herself to helping children grow up to be healthy, so in December 2010, President Barack Obama signed the Healthy, Hunger-Free Kids Act of 2010, which allows the USDA to make changes to school lunch and breakfast. The USDA asked for more fruits and vegetables to be added to school lunches, which will occur during this school year.

“Before, we used to offer ½ a cup of regular fruits and now we have to offer 1 cup,” said Mitch Arnold, McKinley’s cafeteria manager. Along with that, the cafeteria staff now offers students fruit juice. They give students canned fruits and whole fruits like bananas, apples and oranges.

Diana Gomez (12) said she likes the addition of fruits because she loves fruits.

Students are offered steamed or cooked vegetables and fresh salad.

“Other high schools are not like us,” said Arnold.

He puts the fresh salad into bowls. He said that if you were to go to any other high school in this state, salad would go on your tray. These are the small things that the students of McKinley should appreciate.

“I think it’s better and healthier. It helps us get the right amount of nutrition,” said Gomez about the meal changes.

With this much food being added, Arnold said that it is “much harder” than past years to prepare the meals because he does not have enough staff members. In addition to more fruits and vegetables, the USDA also requires schools to decrease protein and carbohydrates. Arnold said the buns used to be 3.2 ounces but they were required to shrink them to 2. The entrees look very small now. The cafeteria staff works hard to make their food look appetizing so students will eat it. Furthermore, they try to serve the food as hot as possible.

Arnold said that everyone judges their food by the way it looks.

“If something doesn’t look good, then you’re not gonna eat it.”