In the United States today, packed lunches spell trouble for kids.
A 2014 study at Tufts University found that school lunches brought from home almost always fail to meet basic nutritional standards, containing too much sugar, not enough whole grain foods, and too few fruits and vegetables.
In fact, not one of the 626 packed lunches studied met all five standards set by the National School Lunch Program! This means that almost always, much-maligned American cafeteria food provides better nutrition than what kids bring from home.
This is a big problem. Poor nutrition in childhood sets the stage for a lifetime of health problems ranging from diabetes to heart disease, cancer, depression, sleep troubles, and weak bones and joints. Many of these problems relate to overweight and obesity, which plages more than a third or American kids.
That’s why we have to make packed school lunch nutrition count for our kids! Take the pledge to pack the nutritious lunches your kids deserve all year long.
Together, we have to power to create a school community in which children learn to value nourishing food, just as they learn to value reading or math.
Here’s to a healthy year!
