US Government Wants Healthier School Lunches
Listen to the article (Irish accent)
The US president’s administration has proposed to change school meals. The proposal says that school food should have less sugar, less salt and more whole grains.
The secretary of agriculture says that the changes are important to stop childhood obesity.
The proposal says that 80% of the grain provided by schools has to be whole grain by fall 2024. Then, by fall 2025, there will be new limits for products with lots of sugar like some cereals, yogurt and flavored milks, as well as products with a lot of sodium.
Some people are worried that the limits will make school menus smaller and kids will choose the least healthy options. Michael Gasper, a supervisor at a school in Wisconsin, thinks that more kids will leave school for their lunch and buy unhealthy food at convenience stores and fast-food restaurants.
Gasper also says that school meal programs already have problems with high food prices and not enough workers. He thinks changing the menu will be difficult.
The discussion about school food has been an important topic for a long time. During President Obama's administration, schools were required to serve fruits and vegetables every day, and offer more whole grain. During President Trump's administration, some of those rules were removed.
People in the dairy business disagreed with the idea of limits on flavored milk in schools. The head of the International Dairy Foods Association said they were happy dairy was still important for kids' nutrition, but worried about the administration's plan to limit dairy in school meals.
Vocabulary25 words
- Administration
- the group of people in charge of managing a government
- Propose
- to suggest; to put forward; to recommend; to submit
- Meal
- an occasion when food is served or eaten, esp. breakfast, lunch, or dinner
- Whole grain
- a grain from a cereal plant such as rice or wheat that has not had anything removed from it; Whole grains have all parts of the grain
- Secretary
- the head of a government department, chosen by the president and not a member of a law-making group
- Agriculture
- the science or job of farming; the industry of growing food and raising animals for food
- Obesity
- a medical condition in which someone has too much body fat, which can lead to health problems; the state or condition of being very fat or overweight
- Grain
- a crop such as wheat and corn that is grown for food; a small, hard seed, especially the seed of a food plant such as wheat, corn, rye, oats, rice, or millet
- Provide
- to give or supply something that is needed or requested
- Limit
- a boundary or restriction; the maximum allowed;
- Flavored
- having an added flavor or a specified flavor; (flavored-milk is milk plus another flavor like chocolate)
- Sodium
- salt
- Supervisor
- a person who manages and oversees the work of others; manager
- Convenience store
- a small shop that sells simple foods and small important items and is open long hours
- Fast-food
- food that is cooked and served very quickly in special restaurants, usually chain restaurants like McDonald’s
- Program
- project; initiative; a group of activities or things to be achieved
- Discussion
- to talk about something with other people and share ideas; process of talking about something in order to reach a decision
- Required
- necessary; have to; obligatory; mandatory
- Serve
- to bring or give food/drink to someone
- Offer
- provide; supply; propose; to make something available for sale or use
- Remove
- to take out; to take away from; take off; to stop; to eliminate
- Dairy
- products made from milk, such as cheese, butter, and yogurt
- Head
- leader, top person, boss
- Association
- a group of people/organizations that come together; union; partnership;
- Nutrition
- the process of taking food into the body and the way that it influences your health; process of eating/getting the food necessary for health and growth
Discussion questions
- What are your thoughts on limiting sugar and salt in school meals? Do you think it will have a positive impact on children's health?
- Do you agree with Michael Gasper's concern that limiting the menu options in school meals could lead to children eating more unhealthy food outside of school? Why or why not?
- Some people think changing the school menu in the US will be difficult. In your opinion, what could some of the difficulties be?
More Politics stories
Next story · Medium
Learning English with the News: An Effective Strategy for Improving Your Language Skills