Create a program which will help in provision of healthy foods in Pocatello high Schools
Students in High Schools are provided with breakfast, lunch and super. Breakfast is usually served in the morning before students go for their classes. Lunch is served sometime around noon while supper is served around 6 pm in the evening. The population in high school comprises of children between the ages of 12 and 18.This stage of development is called adolescent stage. During this stage, children grow at a very fast rate.
A health diet is therefore needed for this special group. Their diet should be balanced to provide them with the basic nutrients needed for proper growth of their body. Unbalanced diet can cause health problems like anemia, obesity as well as eating disorders. Apart from provision of high quality foods, students should exercise their bodies through taking part in co-curricular activities. Some health problems like obesity are prevented through doing exercises like playing football (Idaho Food bank 3).
A health diet should include foods from all the groups of food. They should contain proteins (meat, bean) which help in growth and repair of body tissues, carbohydrates (cereals and bread) which provide the body with energy, fruits and vegetables which contain various minerals and vitamins. Dairy products like cheese and butter are also good for them health of adolescents.
Adolescent’s foods should have high contents of minerals and vitamins but low amounts of fats and sugar. Fatty and sugary foods lead to overweight which in turn leads to disorders like obesity. Examples of such foods include hamburgers, potato chips and soda. These foods easily replace healthy foods in children when used often. Studies have shown that students can drink a lot of soda but fail to take milk, which provides their body with calcium (Idaho Food bank 5).
Students should not be allowed to take junk foods. High school students should be given chicken and fish instead of beef as a way of reducing calories in their diet. Lunch without meat in high school, for example bean soup, salads, fruits and vegetables help in reducing fat. Another concern for high school students is dieting. This is especially common with girls who through the influence of peer pressure desire to be thin.
uch girls limit the amount of food that they eat to grow thin. In severe cases, these girls can starve themselves. The issue of dieting should be discouraged because it affects the health of students in addition to the fact that they lack full concentration in classes because they are hungry. Balanced diet contributes to good moods of children, which enhances their learning. Students should be taught on the importance of healthy feeding habits on their bodies (Idaho Food bank 4).
The solution
To come with a healthy breakfast, lunch and supper in pocatello high schools in idaho estate
The body for its proper growth needs seven nutrients. They include carbohydrates, proteins, fat, fiber, water and minerals. These nutrients should be included in the daily meals. Lack of these nutrients, excessive use and imbalance in the body has negative Impacts on individual’s health and especially among adolescent group whose growth rate is high.
Diseases like scurvy, diabetes, obesity and osteoporosis came because of this. Malnutrition has been a great challenge in most developing countries according to World Health Organization (Idaho 56).
Benefit 1: for the supply of energy in the body
Carbohydrates are energy giving foods. Carbohydrates, proteins, fats and alcohol are collectively referred to as macronutrients. Carbohydrate in not food but what is contained in a particular food. Carbohydrate rich foods include cereals, rice, pasta, fruits, bread and some vegetables like potatoes. Carbohydrates are the sources of energy in the body. Carbohydrate rich foods also contain vitamins especially vitamins B and foliate as well as minerals like iron, and zinc.
Carbohydrate is combination of two components, starch and sugar. Starch is contained in cereals, bread, and rice while sugars are contained naturally in fruits, milk and honey or as a component in foods like cake, biscuits and soft drinks. Sugars and starch are broken down in to lactose, glucose, sucrose and maltose during the process of digestion after which they are absorbed in the body. Carbohydrates are therefore important components in the diet of high school students to provide them with energy.
Activities that high school students engage in require the use of energy. The amount of energy they loose during these activities should be replaced. For example, during sports, they loose a lot of energy. Activities like running are too demanding where students loose a lot of water from the body through sweat. Energy giving foods should be provided to these students to prevent deficiency diseases (Idaho 60).
Benefit 2: for the supply of energy in the body
Proteins make up most of the tissues in the human, body like muscles. The main sources of proteins include beef, eggs, fish, beans, legumes, nuts and poultry. These are the body building foods, which help in repairing worn-out body tissues. Proteins are used in the body to manufacture protein molecules, which perform different functions in the body. For instance, hemoglobin is formed from proteins.
It is a component of the red blood cells, which distributes oxygen through all the body parts. Protein is a main component of the cardiac muscle found in the heart. The heart is major organ of the body, which pumps blood to all body parts. When blood is supplied to all parts of the body, the person receives enough oxygen and therefore he is active.
Protein is important even during leisure activities like watching the television. During the process of digestion, protein foods are broken down into small units called monoacids by the digestive juices found in the stomach and small intestines. Incase of injuries, proteins help in the healing of wounds (Idaho 96).
Benefit 3: for Good Reputation of the schools
Every organization seeks for a good name and reputation. A good name is good for the sale of the company’s products. A good name can also act as a competitive advantage for the organization. Most customers are selective and usually choose products from selected companies.
Companies with good reputation tend to attract more customers and hence the ability to increase the sales revenue. By the company offering to undertake the food program for the school, it will improve its reputation and the ability to reap from increased customers from the school environment (Food Protection Program 10).
CSR opportunity
The food program for a school is an opportunity for the organization to give back to the society. CSR activities usually help organizations to get in touch with the community. The organization can provide food program to the school freely while incurring minimum costs. The food manufacturing organization can set up a donation program to the school. Food donation is a charity activity that involves not only the organization, but also other members of the society.
The company can open up a charity and donations department in which the charitable society members can support the program through their donations. The donations will ensure future survival of the program. Through this program, the organization will act as a non-profit making firm to the society. The overall effect is the positive effect on the firm’s performance (Food Protection Program 8)
Benefit 4: Healthy Habits for the Society
Young people require training and socialization on the best practices that are of help to their future well-being. The food program will consist of a balanced diet that contains all the required body nutrients and will improve the health of the children.
A healthy person is able to attend to will his/her duties well. The program will be a good training and socialization for the children and will positively affect their future. The children will be taught the benefits of a healthy diet that they will apply to the rest of their lives (American Biological Institute 200).
Benefit: 5 Job Provision for Volunteers
Many people are jobless and need employment. The organization can provide employment opportunities for volunteers in the region in which the schools are located. The level of unemployment will drop as well as crime, drug abuse and deviant activities that are associated with joblessness.
Cost analysis
Healthy eating is costly, something that is clear in the minds of many people. For example, fresh pineapples and blueberries go at high prices. A research was done in Washington to compare the cost of foods per calories.
They aimed at helping customers understand the difference in prices between health and unhealthy foods. Low calorie foods are usually high in nutrient value while high calorie junk foods contain fewer nutrients. The research showed that low calorie floods went at very high prices.
The differences in prices are very high. The school management should allocate enough money to cater for the high prices of these foods. Minimization of expenses is the objective of every organization. Organizations do incur expenses in the cost of inputs, operations and other fixed expenses. The company can incur cost such as delivery of produce to the schools and contacting suppliers.
As a non-profit making organization, the company supplying food to the Pocatello schools can minimize costs incurred by relying in volunteers to do the tasks required and depending on donations. Since legal requirements do not require non-profit making organizations to make public their profit and revenue made, all money realized by the organization must be spent. Therefore, the organization will seek to conform to the legal requirements (American Biological Institute 200).
Conclusion
Students in Pocatello High Schools should be given foods rich in these nutrients. The management in these schools should set aside enough funds to cater for the balanced diet of the students because it is costly. Proper diet will enhance growth of the students as well as full concentration in class works.
Their healthy future of the students will be well secured as they will be taught healthy practices. The performance of students is going to be good if their health needs are looked at. In addition, the organization can be able to improve its reputation and minimize operating costs through donations and relying on volunteers.
Works Cited
American Biological Institute. Two thousand notable Americans. American Biographical Institute, 1984.
Food Protection Program, Keep It Healthy: Food Safety Employee Guide, 2010. Web.
Idaho Food bank, Idaho Food bank: Food and Fund Drive Kit, 2010. Web.
Idaho, Montana. The Best Organic Food Stores, Farmers’ Markets & Vegetarian Restaurants. Washington: Hunter Publishing, Inc, 2010.