March 19, 2024

Lunches at Murray

My name is Kayla Siefkas and I am a junior at Murray High School. As a student athlete, I urge parents everywhere to advocate for changes in school lunch guidelines because I can personally say that for athletes and many more students, the school lunches do not provide enough food or calories to provide needed energy and nutrition.

Too many students spend the afternoons distracted by hunger, instead of concentrating on class.

I understand changes were made to school lunch menus in 2012, as an effort to curb childhood obesity. Although eating healthy is important for students and young children to learn, the amount of food we are given simply isn’t enough for all students. Both athletes and non-athletes go home hungry nearly every day.

Healthy eating habits are important for kids to learn, but the meals also need to be able to fill us up, because without enough calories to sustain us, it’s too easy to fill that “hole” and just grab junk food. Eating junk food after school is a habit that leads to weight gain and endless cycles of energy spikes and valleys, which clearly wasn’t the intention of lawmakers and administrators who advocated the changed school menus.

A better option is to allow the school to have a more lenient menu, to cater to the students’ different tastes and calorie needs.

According to the following website http://healthyeating.sfgate.com/caloric-needs-athletes-7179.html the average male athlete needs about 3,800 calories per day, and a female athlete like me needs roughly 2,600-2,900 calories per day. Yet, school lunches only allow a maximum of 850 calories a day; that simply isn't enough.

Without a proper diet, athletes will become tired and perform poorly when they play their sport. Playing a sport with a lack of energy can be very dangerous and cause serious injury to the player.

The lack of a good meat source on the menu is another big concern for me.

At school breakfast, there is no meat served unless you substitute a meat for a grain. At lunch, ninth through 12th graders are only allowed roughly two ounces a day.

Lunch preparers tell us that the protein served is sometimes not meat at all. I know their hands are tied.

“We live in a rural area where we are used to the meat and potatoes diet,” said Kathy Flaherty, head cook at Murray Community School.

Meat contains many nutrients that our bodies need to function, our muscles to contract and repair and vitamins for our bones to grow. The small portions of meat in school lunches is, in fact, taking away from the healthy diet that we are trying to promote.

The changes that have been made to try to promote healthier school lunches have caused students and student athletes to go uncomfortably hungry during the day. I write this letter to advocate on behalf of fellow athletes and students at Murray Community School and beyond. Lunches should contain more meat, provide more calories and allow students and lunch preparers more choices of fruits, vegetables and grains for students.

The end result will bring more satisfaction for everyone, which is to serve healthy lunches that are filling and more appealing.