Why Children Should Be Allowed To Eat At School

Proper nutrition is essential for the development of children throughout the world. We have a responsibility to be the voice for children and help them lead healthy, happy lives. One of the places children go to flourish is school. Schools should be required to provide free lunch to each and every student. First of all, children deserve to have an opportunity for a nutritious meal without worrying where the food will come from and who will pay for it. The problem of childhood malnutrition is growing, and having schools provide lunch at no cost is "the simplest and most effective way to overcome that" (Schneider). The cost of providing lunch might increase taxpayer dollars and "there is no such thing as a free lunch, but exceptions should be made for children" (Mathews). As students, their main focus should be on learning and not experiencing hunger. A child that is worried and sick from being unhealthy will miss time at school and not be an effective learner. There are a number of reasons children would not be able to eat lunch if they weren't able to eat at school. For example, if a childs parents didn't have the money to provide them with lunch, they would end up going without food. Even if the childs family doesn't …show more content…
Bullying in school is on the rise, and shy children could easily become bullied into giving away their lunch to another student. In contrast, children that feel empathy towards a friend or peer that didn't have lunch that day, may be inclined to give them their own lunch. As a result, this would cause increased anxiety and distress for the child. Adults don't always know what happens between peers, and have no way to put a stop to the behavior if they are not aware. Having each child provided with the same lunch would be a step in the right direction at diverting these negative