School Lunch Manifesto

Whether you have realized this or not, the government and the schools have had a huge impact on how you end up as who you are. An average student goes through primary and secondary school for 12 years. During that time, they are given food provided by the school and have no option but to eat unless they bring their own lunch. They are basically put into one of the systems established by the government and the school and left there with no choice but to accept and comply if they do not want to starve.

I do not condemn the government and the schools. I do not even condemn the way the system is set up. But what I do condemn is the lack of awareness of the massive responsibility the government and schools should have on their shoulders.

You ask, what responsibility? The responsibility of shaping one’s health and diet. The responsibility of setting so many young ones on the right path in regards to having a healthy living. The responsibility of engraving in people’s hearts that what you eat matters and the responsibility of ensuring that hungry children who are not fed enough at homes do get fed properly.

If this is not a massive responsibility, then what is? For the past decades, those in authority have not realized this huge burden adequately. Even look at the situation today. They say, “We will make America great again” but little do they know that they have already got off on a wrong foot. How do they expect to make America great and improve the health of Americans if they do not care for the young people who will make up the next generation?

Because the younger generation who are still in school may not have enough life experiences to realize that they are in such a pivotal stage in their life, there must be others who stand up for them. Did we not learn that what we have eaten for the 12 years in school has shaped our diet and our food choices? Did we not learn that consequences follow when we make poor choices on what we eat? If we do not step up to teach the next generation concerning this matter that will impact the rest of their lives, who will do it?

And you ask again, but what if I am not concerned about them? Then, let me ask you in return, What makes you care about others? What makes you want to change the world and make it a better place for the sake of others? Is it not from the love in your being toward those who you treasure and having that love spread out from within you to reach others?

Let’s not repeat the mistake again. Do not let yourself think that we are okay, this is not too bad, and that we can stay where we are at. But let’s open up our eyes and see and accept the reality that is before us. This is not the time to shrink back but to take a step, one at a time.