The Impact of Universal School Meals on Academic Performance

SCHOOL MEALS VERSUS POVERTY

Provision of universal free school meals in our educational centers may help mitigate against poverty in a number of ways as discussed below:

Enhance academic achievement and learning in general

Having universal meals in schools to be shared among all students creates an ambient environment for improvement in academic performance and promotes harmonious leaning in educational institutions. According to a controlled study by the Maxwell School of Syracuse University, schools with healthy meals for all had their students perform better in tests compared to those without universal meals. It was also established that students who consume healthier meals do better than those who consume less healthy diet. Those who miss meals tend to perform worse than those who eat regularly (Department for Works and Pensions, 2013). The universal provision ensures better performance thus improving employability among learners hence reducing the poverty index.

Foster Social Solidarity, Promote Cohesion and Reduce Bullying

Universal school meals put students at a uniform level thus a way of promoting equality. Common free meals in schools are comparable to meals at summer camps, which promote joy, relaxation and socialization. Stigmatization through association with poverty is eradicated by this means and the lunchrooms become safe spaces and hospitable areas for all learners. Unfortunately, many learners currently entitled to free school meals fail to claim the food either due to the associated stigma or complexity in the claiming process. Additionally, learners from a number of poverty stricken families are currently not entitled to free school meals despite their inability to pay for the regular meals. Homogeneity is however, achieved among both eligible and ineligible learners (SFT, 2021) through universal school provision. Having the universal school meals will offload the burden of purchasing expensive balanced diet from poor families.

Promote Student Health

School meals are meant to meet the necessary nutritional requirements among leaners alongside promoting healthy living. Food education is crucial in contributing to good health especially in a nation with rampant diet-related diseases. Leaner’s health outcomes can improve through provision of healthy common meals and incorporating school food in the curriculum. It is observable that consumption of more varied varieties of vegetables and fruits among leaners has improved their general behavior both in school and at home hence improving their academic performance. Some families are however, incapable of accessing the balanced diet due to financial constraints (Department for Works and Pensions, 2013) hence, providing it at school ensures a healthier nation. A healthier population implies lesser funds go to healthcare hence more money for other development agenda.

Eliminating lunch debt

The unpaid lunch bills total up to thousands of dollars that have to be met by the schools annually thus reducing resources available for staff, equipment, food and the quality of meals. These huge bills are poverty traps that normally deter parents from participating in school activities including exhibit nights and parent-teacher conferences. Losing entitlement to the free school meals presents disincentives for parents to get employment especially when considering families with many children. The disincentive can however, be removed through provision of universal meals in schools (Department for Works and Pensions, 2013). The universal meals can also over time, increase employability and hence reduce child poverty more significantly.

Supporting food sustainability and promoting rural economy

The continuous demanding of supplies by schools to sustain their universal school meals will assure the British farmers of a constant market. This will go a long way in leveraging the farmers from fluctuating demands and low market prices from national retailers. Proper implementation of the universal food program for schools will ensure sustainable local production of food, thus ensuring spending of taxes on more environmental friendly (agricultural) projects. For instance, the New Economics Foundation demonstrates how possible it is to achieve overwhelming returns on investment by spending money on local businesses such as farming (Sacks, 2005).

MERITOCRACY

This is a system in which people are believed to get ahead based on their personal accomplishment. In a school setting, leaners are selected to enjoy certain privileges depending on merit, competence and qualities other than influence from other people. The merit could be in terms of academic performance, behavior and sports among others.

Meritocracy in Education

The Future Scholar Awards also referred to as the Dux Award Scheme is one establishment in the English education system that encourages meritocratic approach. The program recognizes young leaners that excel in their academic performance, improve in their studies, resilient to adversity and are able to apply for higher learning. In 2013, learners of about the age of 14 years (ninth graders) from about 800 schools benefited from the program. The best performers were treated to a visit to England’s prestigious universities in conjunction with the Ministry of Education, where, they held open day for aimed at increasing the young learners’ expectations (Greater London Authority, 2013) and encouraging them to invest in excellence.

The London Schools of Excellence Fund also promotes the same ideology by rewarding the top performers. This is a program jointly funded by the local and central governments to enable best performing schools share their expertise and knowledge with others, so as to raise expectations, improve leaners’ performance and promote academic stability. The English schools on the other hand, also tend to promote excellence from a tender age by rewarding good performance in terms of attendance, effort, civic participation, involvement in extracurricular activities, behavior and academic performance. Learners from as young as kindergarten, are rewarded along these lines. Some schools award stars e.g platinum or golden stars while others award school merit stickers (Hornsey School for Girls, 2015) for good performance.

The effort to reward good performance is in itself highly commendable for motivating learners into putting more determination in their daily venture. It also steers competition among students hence improving the overall school performance. However, the system tends to neglect average and low performers who may end up giving up trying. It may end up widening the gap between top and low performers (Mijs, n.d) since it only concentrates on the best (who may keep improving with reward) and neglects the others. The system therefore, needs to be more considerate and all inclusive so as to create a common balance for all students to get motivated and participate.

BIBLIOGRAPHY

• Department for Works and Pensions. (2013). Free School Meal Entitlement and Child Poverty in England. Department for Works and Pesions, 1-8.
• Greater London Authority. (2013). Mayor Unveils Multi-Million Pound Investment to Drive Up Teaching Standards. Retrieved July 30, 2021, from Greater London Authority: https://www.london.gov.uk/media/mayor-press-releases/2013/10/mayor-unveils-multi-million-pound-investment-to-drive-up
• Hornsey School for Girls. (2015, June 13). Reward Points and Sanctions. Retrieved July 30, 2021, from Hornsey School for Girls: http://www.hsg.haringey.sch.uk/about-us/school-expectations/reward-points-and-sanctions/
• Mijs, J. (n.d). The Unfulfillable Promise of Meritocracy. Harvard University: Social Justice Research 29(1), 14-34.
• Pensions, D. f. (2013). Free school meal entitlement and child poverty in England. Department for Works and Pensions, 1-8.
• Pensions, D. f. (2013). Free school meal entitlement and child poverty in England . Department for Works and Pensions, 1-8.
• Sacks, J. (2005). Public Spending for Public Benefit. London: NEF.
• SFT. (2021). Education. Retrieved July 30, 2021, from SFT Education Group: https://www.schoolfoodtrust.org.uk/UploadDocs/Library/Documents/hull_free_school_meals_derek_colquhoun.pdf