SHS Food Policy

Over the past years of SHS, eating in class was a staple of student life and helped a lot of people get through the day. Many students in the previous years ate during the school day as a healthy compensation for their lack of breakfast. Students as a whole do not have a lot of time in the morning, therefore they will skip the most important meal of the day.

Statistics show that eating in the classroom boosts test grades and overall well being. A poll of college student suggests that eating breakfast boosts test grades dramatically. 65.5% self-identified that they had eaten some type of breakfast. Of that 65.5 %, 72.7% received a “C” or better on the test. As the graph shows, eating breakfast, or some substitute for it, has a significant impact on test grades. Therefore, not allowing kids to eat in class will be shown to have a negative impact on their grade.

From an online poll of Scituate High School Students, results concluded that 58% of voters out of 450 people do not eat breakfast in the morning.  The majority of the voters on this pole are lacking the energy they need to get through their morning classes which can lead to an increase in stress or a decrease in strong grades.

Obviously, the main priority is the safety and comfort of all of the students. However, perhaps kids our age should be considered responsible enough to carry their EpiPens, as Ms. Dwyer suggested. When asked about EpiPens, Ms. Dwyer responded with “I think at this age, the kids who do have allergies should carry their EpiPens around yes, my son does in 8th grade, he has his epipen, he carries it around, they should be advocates for themselves.”

Even if it’s not possible for every student with a food allergy to carry an EpiPen, the majority of students are not allergic to most foods, and to ban all of them is frankly just outrageous.

A study by the Tufts University Center on Hunger, Poverty, and Nutrition Policy has shown that a child who doesn’t eat enough on a regular basis can have delays in brain development as well as abysmal ability, to learn because they are not able to focus due to lack of energy. It is quite evident that while health is a primary concern, there are many ways to solve the issue other than completely banning food, and it is necessary that we explore these options to achieve the best possible learning environment for the entire school.

Eating in the school, besides the cafeteria, is a privilege that I am sure the entire student body misses. Everyone knows the saying “Breakfast is the most important meal of the day,” but many people,and students especially, cannot comprehend the influence eating effects on teenagers, growing body. Eating provides students with the energy they need to get through the day, and if students aren’t able to eat in school when they are craving food, it will negatively impact their learning experience in many significant ways. This issue needs to be addressed in Scituate Public Schools and as a community, we need to educate ourselves on how important eating breakfast is and understand the consequences if we don’t.