Letter to the Editor

Hello

I'm a senior at Stockton High, and I want to bring to your attention a situation that happened today.

According to the USDA's national standard for school lunches, MyPlate (the system we use currently; we have around 6-8 posters in our lunchroom reminding us of this fact), the range for a 14+-yearold teenager (the age range of an eighth grader as the minimum, mind you) is ~1600 calories per day. Divided by three meals a day, this comes to ~530 calories per meal.

Our school lunch today was 300 calories.

Today's lunch plan was cheesy bread, marinara sauce, cooked corn, milk, Ranch, and salad bar.

MyPlate's 1600-calorie recommendation, which I used, was also the bare minimum, typically the dietary needs of a rather sedentary 14-year-old. The caloric needs range from 1600 to 3200 calories per day, depending on activity level and other biological factors.

This main course used to be served as a mandatory side, to add insult to injury.

A particular devil's advocate may point to the salad bar or the marinara sauce served with the 'lunch' we had today.

Firstly, the marinara sauce had no meat in it. There was no reliable protein source (or protein source) to eat at lunch today.

Secondly, the salad bar contains ~70% uncooked, unseasoned, unheated vegetables. Students will take multiple scoops of the same side to feel full, leaving the popular (and good-tasting) sides empty for the students last in line. I do not blame them one bit. The lunch ladies only refill the salad bars once per lunch cycle.

I am asking if you consume uncooked, unseasoned, unheated cauliflower or cucumbers to fill a calorie deficit.

Would you do it if you had a food allergy?

How about a severe aversion to that vegetable? To all the vegetables given?

What if you were seven years old and had never tried it before?

I am not going to dive into the rabbit hole that is the fact that most students pay for our meals. Where is our money going? What is our schooling system doing with said money if it is not going to the student's care and well-being? This is merely the straw that broke the camel's back for me. I (and a laundry list of other students, teachers, administrators, and principals) have their, well, laundry lists of complaints about the school.

But this is not about that. Our school is full of athletes, artists, musicians, writers, lovers, thinkers, and so much more. Every student is doing things outside of school, not to mention the students who skip breakfast altogether (such as me). Children suffering from food insecurity are also a glaring issue in this problem, who are likely affected the most by this decision. I know that I can go home and reliably have dinner. Many students cannot, far more than you think.

We all need far more fulfilling, balanced, tasty meals to thrive in our respective environments and represent our school in the best way we can.

I feel like I am begging for scraps. I feel ashamed that I need to do this.

Thank you for your time. Name Withheld By Request