Children have been eating junk food including processed foods such as frozen foods, and fast foods and they have been drinking sugary drinks like sodas, sports drinks, and juice for so many years. They have access to these junk foods and sugary drinks if there are vending machines present in the schools. I think they remove soda and drink machines with these sugary drinks, and put water, chocolate milk, 1% milk, 2% milk, vitamin d milk and skim milk. They need to also add soy milk, rice milk and almond milk as well, or eliminate drink machines completely. Then they should keep cracker products, party mix, popcorn, pretzels, and Chex mix in the snack machines as oppose to candy bars, chips, cookies, and pastries, or remove the snack machines completely.
In school cafeterias, they have ice cream, cookies, pies, cakes, fruit juices, and chips for the kids to buy with lunch. In school cafeterias, they should give popcorn, cracker products, chex mix, and pretzels along with fruits and vegetables in place of junk foods. Instead of serving juice and other sugary drinks, they need to give milk with meals, and water with snacks.
In childcare centers, private schools, and preschools, they emphasize the concept of healthy eating and that they are not to bring junk food of any kind to school. With meals, they are served milk, and with snack the kids drink water. Also, children drink water with lunch and snack in some schools because there are kids with certain food allergies. There are no snack or drink machines present in these centers, and same with most private schools. Even if there is no cafeteria in these childcare centers, private schools and preschools, a chef should be available to cook meals for them in a clean kitchen.
In half-day preschools and childcare centers, children bring lunch from home. Half-day preschool, childcare teachers and administrators should hire a chef to cook lunch and give a healthy snack each day to the staff and students. Students can have the option of eating school lunch, or bringing lunch from home. Even if children bring lunch from home, the teachers or chefs can give them milk. They can eat the snack given in school with water.
They should serve these milk products, milk alternatives, healthy snacks, healthy meals, and water whether or not there is a cafeteria.
Fresh fruits and vegetables have more nutrients that children need, compared to juices, sports drinks and soda. Chefs and teachers should feed children more fresh fruits, vegetables, eggs and other protein sources, yogurt, and grains. Children need to drink milk with meals, and water with snacks. They should also cook all the children's meals fresh from scratch, and not feed children processed food. Several frozen meals have lots of preservatives, and the nutrients are not natural because they come from those preservatives. Plus all these processed foods have too much fat, sugar and sodium. Examples of healthy meals are peanut butter and jelly sandwiches, cheese sandwiches, and pasta dishes made from scratch with vegetables on the side. They can even make chicken nuggets, french fries, and other items children enjoy eating from scratch too instead of buying them frozen.
Another thing school chefs, teachers, and administrators could do is put a salad bar with fruits, vegetables, chicken, and other meat products, and fresh salad dressings for children and teachers to access during their meal times whether they have a cafeteria or not in all schools. All children need access to a salad bar during lunch time. People in the cafeteria or kitchen should be there to supervise children each time they go. Teachers need to be able to watch the children as they eat their lunch, too.
For children with food allergies, such as milk, corn, eggs, nut(s), gluten, meat, or fish allergies, chefs and teachers need to provide the children with food substitutes or alternatives. They should give them soy, almond, or rice milk. Parents need to let the staff know about their children's food allergies. If the school cannot provide alternatives, healthy foods for snack and lunch need to be sent from home.
Once a month or everyday, I see some schools ordering fast food for the students and teachers. Instead of ordering fast food, they need to order pizza, tacos, french fries, chicken nuggets, burritos, salads, and sandwiches from fast casual restaurants. They should order food from fast casual restaurants once a month for all students and staff.
In teacher's lounges in schools, they have vending machines with all the junk foods and sugary drinks, as well. In those vending machines, I suggest they put coffee, tea, water, and milk, and the same types of healthy snacks they have for children in cafeterias. When kids see their teachers walk in with candy bars, cookies, and other types of junk food and/or sugary drinks, they will be tempted and want to eat them as well. Either vendors and administrators change the types of foods and drinks they have in vending machines for teachers, or eliminate them.
Parents who send lunch from home know they should replicate the same principle at home. Even if children take lunch from home, they still need fruits and vegetables. As their first teachers, they know to should teach their children to eat healthy. Children need to still have access to the salad bar in school whether they eat lunch from home, or the food they have in school.
Whatever school children go to, the same rule should be implemented. Whether there is a school cafeteria or not, teachers and chefs should serve milk with lunch, and water with snack. Chocolate, lowfat milk (1% and 2% milk), vitamin D milk and skim milk should be given to children. Children who have allergies, or are vegans should be given soy milk, rice milk, or almond milk. Children who are not allergic or are not vegan should have a chance to try the alternatives to milk, too.
Sodas, juices and sports drinks contain too much sugar, and it is unhealthy for everybody to drink. Drinking these will cause heart problems, diabetes and weight gain. These health problems will also lead to premature death. Same thing with eating sweets of all kinds excessively. All the nutrients our body needs will also become depleted if we drink all these drinks with meals and snacks. Eating mostly healthy foods, and drinking milk and water is also the key to leading a healthy life.
