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"This is my third year working in a rather tough inner city middle school in New York City. The kids come from many different backgrounds and ethnic groups. Their views about the school, the world, and life are varied to say the least. My students in West Harlem do have one thing in common: they h...
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"This is my third year working in a rather tough inner city middle school in New York City. The kids come from many different backgrounds and ethnic groups. Their views about the school, the world, and life are varied to say the least. My students in West Harlem do have one thing in common: they hate school lunch so much they would rather skip lunch.
School starts at 8AM and we go to lunch at noon. They finish up with their classes around 3 PM. What I find shocking is that many of them just eat breakfast and then wait to get home at 3 PM to eat again. That is roughly more than 7 hours without food.
Then you have the students who do eat lunch at school. Well, I am not sure you would call it lunch, but they do eat! They buy soda from the drink machine and chips and candy from the vending machine. This is what the are using to fuel their minds at school.
I have really been trying to get them to eat better and think about what they are putting into their bodies. It isn't just food, it is fuel for the body and mind and if you put junk in, the machine will not run properly.
I asked them why they don't bring their lunch and they said they would, but they don't have a way to heat it up or a way to keep it fresh. I asked them if they would bring their lunch if I got a refrigerator and microwave and almost all of the kids said they would start bringing their lunch.
I was inspired and thought, let me ask the principal! I asked her and she wasn't very helpful. She talked about budgets and books among other things but not about my request. She did suggest that a I use the $225 dollars we get from the city each year to buy it for my classroom. That would mean no school supplies or basics for my classroom.
I am totally convinced that if my students had a better lunch, they would be more willing and able to focus in the afternoon and do better at their studies. I know that if my students had the opportunity, they would bring their lunch to school and they would start not just eating better, but eating!
Can you help my West Harlem middle school students solve this lunch issue. Not only would you be helping them by letting them have better food choices, but also by allowing them to eat lunch each day instead of skipping it. I know that if they ate lunch each day, their focus and studies would both improve and their lethargy and misbehavior would diminish.
That is why I am asking if you could help my students by getting them a refrigerator to store their healthy home cooked lunches and a microwave oven to heat them up so they can have a hot lunch each day. My project needs a refrigerator in which students can keep their lunch and a microwave in which students can heat their lunch. HIDELive Updates
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Meghan R. (staff member)
on Jul 3, 2007
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