How Nutrition Impacts Learning
School nutrition is not just childhood nutrition or adolescent nutrition, it is specific to nutrition while students are in school. This is an important distinction as we are looking most at how these meals will affect a student while they are in school. Our goal as a school nutrition program is to take a look at the ways we can help our students progress, learn and focus while they are on our school campus.
What are some key nutrients students need to learn in school?
Dietary Fiber (Carbohydrates): A big part of school nutrition is ensuring students feel fuller longer. We want students to be in the classroom learning, listening, and absorbing knowledge not worrying about a growling stomach. A meal full of dietary fiber has the power to keep your student feeling fuller for a longer amount of time, since it will take more time for them to digest those foods. Foods rich in dietary fiber include whole grains, most fruits, vegetables, and even legumes.As part of the national school lunch program we are required to serve all students whole grains along with a fruit and vegetable every day. We are also required to have at least 1 serving of legumes per week. Each school lunch provides a more than adequate amount of dietary fiber to keep students feeling full during their school day.
Iron: Iron is another key nutritional component to school meals because of its role with memory and brain function. Students with optimal iron intake will also be less likely to be fatigued and prone to sickness. Iron is found in many different foods including, whole grains, dark leafy greens, red meats, poultry and more. School nutrition menu requirements also mandate that programs have a variety of vegetable subgroups which ensures students have access to the type of nutrients that support their body function. Our program must serve a certain amount of dark leafy greens, regular leafy greens, red/orange vegetables etc. This variety is key for optimal nutrient density in meals.
Protein: If the average elementary school student weighs about 80 lbs they would need about 40 grams of protein per day. In a single lunch they will be offered up to 25-27 grams of protein. This means a single lunch provides students with at least half or more of their daily protein intake. Protein is an essential nutrient for overall body function and when it comes to staying full longer allowing students to stay focused and ready to learn in their classes. A deficiency of amino acids (which are found in protein) for one could lead to an inability to focus during the day, which in turn could lead to behavioral problems and not retaining content learned in class. Amino acids can be found in meats, grains, dairy products and more. All of which are offered daily within our school nutrition program.
School nutrition has a direct impact on student learning, access to a variety of nutrient dense foods will give students the opportunity to achieve what they are capable of in the classroom. School nutrition programs have the unique opportunity to impact students with meals that will support attention span, focus, memory and even behavior.
