food

Showing 168 posts tagged food

School Breakfasts Now Served as Widely as Lunches Maybe the message about the most important meal of the day has finally sunk in: In many school districts, more than 90 percent of schools that serve lunch through the National School Lunch Program now serve breakfast at school, too, new data from the Food Research and Action Center show. In addition, the report out this week, which looked at how school breakfast programs are operating in 57 large urban and suburban school districts in the 2011-12 school year, found that more than half of all low-income students who ate lunch prepared at school also ate school breakfast. photo via flickr:CC | USDAgov

School Breakfasts Now Served as Widely as Lunches

Maybe the message about the most important meal of the day has finally sunk in: In many school districts, more than 90 percent of schools that serve lunch through the National School Lunch Program now serve breakfast at school, too, new data from the Food Research and Action Center show.

In addition, the report out this week, which looked at how school breakfast programs are operating in 57 large urban and suburban school districts in the 2011-12 school year, found that more than half of all low-income students who ate lunch prepared at school also ate school breakfast.

photo via flickr:CC | USDAgov

For Many Kids, Winter Break Means Hungry Holidays Holidays are typically a festive time, with breaks from the routine, meals with loved ones, maybe even some gifts. But for many families across the U.S., the season comes with intense stress: Roughly 1 in 5 families with children are not getting enough food. Even with school meals, food stamps and food banks, some kids just aren’t getting enough to eat. A recent national survey from the anti-hunger organization Share Our Strength found more than half of teachers have used their own money to buy food for hungry students. They know hunger increases the chances of academic failure, which can push people toward unemployment or even crime. photo via flickr:CC | Old Shoe Woman

For Many Kids, Winter Break Means Hungry Holidays

Holidays are typically a festive time, with breaks from the routine, meals with loved ones, maybe even some gifts. But for many families across the U.S., the season comes with intense stress: Roughly 1 in 5 families with children are not getting enough food.

Even with school meals, food stamps and food banks, some kids just aren’t getting enough to eat. A recent national survey from the anti-hunger organization Share Our Strength found more than half of teachers have used their own money to buy food for hungry students. They know hunger increases the chances of academic failure, which can push people toward unemployment or even crime.

photo via flickr:CC | Old Shoe Woman

Strict school junk food laws may help curb kids’ obesity, but study results aren’t a slam-dunk Children in the study gained less weight from fifth through eighth grades if they lived in states with strong, consistent laws versus no laws governing snacks available in schools. For example, kids who were 5 feet tall and 100 pounds gained on average 2.2 fewer pounds if they lived in states with strong laws in the three years studied. Also, children who were overweight or obese in fifth grade were more likely to reach a healthy weight by eighth grade if they lived in states with the strongest laws. The effects weren’t huge, and the study isn’t proof that the laws influenced kids’ weight. But the results raised optimism among obesity researchers and public health experts who generally applaud strong laws to get junk food out of schools. photo via flickr:CC | Phillie Casablanca

Strict school junk food laws may help curb kids’ obesity, but study results aren’t a slam-dunk

Children in the study gained less weight from fifth through eighth grades if they lived in states with strong, consistent laws versus no laws governing snacks available in schools. For example, kids who were 5 feet tall and 100 pounds gained on average 2.2 fewer pounds if they lived in states with strong laws in the three years studied.

Also, children who were overweight or obese in fifth grade were more likely to reach a healthy weight by eighth grade if they lived in states with the strongest laws.

The effects weren’t huge, and the study isn’t proof that the laws influenced kids’ weight. But the results raised optimism among obesity researchers and public health experts who generally applaud strong laws to get junk food out of schools.

photo via flickr:CC | Phillie Casablanca