Overtime, student meals have made positive development in becoming more available

and healthier to students. Student meals first started in Europe and The United States; these

programs were private organizations that started with advocacy. After a while, it became a state

to state program, not nationwide yet. It was not until the 20th century in which the concern for

malnutrition for students became an increased concern. Everyone knows that Breakfast is the

most important meal of the day; however, “the midday meal was considered the main meal of the

day. Most families worked and went to school near the home, so they were afforded the luxury

of breaking for a meal at their own dining table. Children either ate at home with their families,

or packed a lunch if they attended a school that was too far away. Boarding school students ate

formal meals in the dining hall with their fellow classmates” (Avey, 2015, para.1). A couple

schools started to advocate for school meals; however, it still was not a nationwide concern. In

1894, some schools started programs that allowed students to get provided with a meal for a

penny. In 1946, the National School Lunch Act was signed by President Truman.

National School Lunch Program is a program that provides student meals, it is the second

largest nutrition assistance program. It operates “nearly 100,000 public and nonprofit private

schools (grades PK-12) and residential child care institutions. The NSLP provided low-cost or

free lunches to 29.7 million children daily at a cost of $13.8 billion. Average participation was 1

percent less than in the previous FY and reached a 13-year low; participation was about 7 percent

lower than in FY 2011 when average participation peaked at 31.8 million children” (National,

n.d, para.1). The National Lunch Program provides students free lunches and some with free

breakfast. If the child lives in a household with an income at or below 130 percent of the poverty,

they are provided with free lunch. The National Lunch Program has helped a lot of students
throughout the years. Students are reliant on these meals, especially now. Before this program, a

lot of students were lacking nutrition. Schools are providing them with that.

At the moment, we are currently in a Global Pandemic. COVID-19 has taken over the

nation, closing schools worldwide. One billion meals students have missed due to the nation

wide closure of schools. Students are in desperate need of food to be provided to them during

this time. There are a lot of organizations/schools still providing students with meals during these

difficult times. Feeding America, No Kid Hungry, Save the Children, Eat. Learn. Play, Blessings

in a Backpack are all organizations/programs helping out during these times. So far, No Kid

Hungry has fundraised “almost $4 million in emergency grant funding to schools and community

groups across the country feeding children during the pandemic. With the help of these grants,

programs plan to serve 1.7 million healthy meals a day during this crisis. This is the first phase of

an ongoing multi-million-dollar response, and we will continue to do everything we can to make

sure no child misses a meal” (How, n.d, para.1).

Student meals are incredibly important for the health and development of a child. Not

only is it great physically for them, but also mentally. There are “recent studies [that]

demonstrated that nutrition affects students’ thinking skills, behavior, and health, all factors that

impact academic performance. Research suggests that diets high in trans and saturated fats can

negatively impact learning and memory, nutritional deficiencies early in life can affect the

cognitive development of school-aged children, and access to nutrition improves students’

cognition, concentration, and energy levels” (Nutrition, 2014, pg.2). Student meals are essential

to our nation to keep the younger generation thriving.