To the editor: To any teenager, including myself, food is very important.
We tend to eat exorbitant amounts of food without care. It isn’t our fault really; teenage bodies need extra nourishment to function. During school I attempt to …
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To the editor: To any teenager, including myself, food is very important.
We tend to eat exorbitant amounts of food without care. It isn’t our fault really; teenage bodies need extra nourishment to function. During school I attempt to eat healthy, but most of my friends do not, and cannot. This is because they buy school lunches. The spread consists of cheeseburgers that closely resemble hockey pucks, chicken patties constructed out of ground-up chicken carcasses, “pizza dippers” consisting of two minuscule breadsticks with some melted cheese, and other indistinguishable and unsatisfying “meals.”
I used to eat school lunches in middle school, but I tended to stay away from the aforementioned slop. My typical meal consisted of a calzone and an apple juice. I would take one of the small mealy apples because you “have to get a fruit or vegetable” when you order a meal, but I would throw it out.
Shockingly enough, I gained weight.
A small calzone and an apple juice were not sufficient and I would come home at 2:30 and have a second lunch. The only vitamins I received were from my Minute Maid© Apple Juice that contained more added sugar than apples.
There have been many movements to upgrade the school lunches in America (anyone remember Jamie Oliver and his “Food Revolution”?), yet our progressive school has fallen behind. I hear complaints nearly every day about how my classmates are hungry after school because of their small meal. I see a lot of students not even touching their hot lunches because they are too foul to stomach. Health is a hot topic in our nation, so why aren’t we doing anything about it in Barrington?
Parents, you may be thinking, “there are healthy options, and you just weren’t taking advantage of them.” Sure, all the buns for our hockey pucks and blender chicken are whole-grain. Also, we have to get a healthy side dish with a hot meal. But, have you seen what they are trying to give us?
I am that stereotypical teenager with a blackhole of a stomach, and I’m even an avid fruit and veggie enthusiast. But man, those fruits are NOT fruits. Our options are “salad” (which is actually just lettuce), shriveled-up carrots and celery, mealy apples, canned fruit salad with undistinguishable fruits, and the occasional pasta salad that has a smattering of black olives. If we don’t pick up one of these appetizing options, we are given; you guessed it, apple juice. How healthy.
To the parents: you should care what your children are eating, and bring about a change in our lunchrooms. Our current food is unhealthy, unappetizing, and unsatisfying. Frankly, I’m appalled by the quality of our lunches, and I think you would be too.
By the way, parents, if you need a catalyst for action, ask your children about hot-lunch horror stories. We have plenty.
Suzy Kunitz
Barrington
Suzy is a senior at Barrington High School