When Regis students first walk into the building, they are greeted by a basket of nutri grain bars. High in sugar and only one gram of protein students can barely last on one for 20 minutes without being just as hungry as before. After first period, the hungry masses raid the cafeteria in search of chips, tater tots, and soda. By lunch, the starving teens have no choice but chicken, fries, and a cookie. If they are wanting a healthy alternative, a small salad is the only option.

If Regis values our physical, emotional, and spiritual health they need to remake the cafeteria to offer only healthy food.

Poor nutrition provided by schools is causing students to lose focus, have a short attention span, and reducing our memory, all things needed to learn well. This was shown In a 5 year study between grades 2-11, where healthy food was provided at school and test scores improved by 3-4%.

Healthy food can also improve memory, according to Harvard Health study, and fruits, vegetables, and whole grains reduce the risk of a memory damaging stroke.

Healthy diets also improve self esteem and assist us to having a positive self image. According to Nutritionist-Recource.org, foods high in nutrition like, spinach, meat, dairy, and eggs, lift your mood and help you to think more optimistically. If Regis provides healthy food it could drastically improve the students mental health.

Cancer, diabetes, and heart issues are all effects of unhealthy food, so why are we giving it to our students? At our age it is extremely important that we are eating healthy to develop properly, prevent diseases, and live longer. According to the CDC, studies have shown that poor nutrition does in fact affect your health and increases your risk for diseases. The unhealthy food provided by Regis is actively impacting our physical health. “But, some people who eat healthy are still affected by these diseases.” While this is true, eating healthy can decrease the risk of getting these diseases and assist our immune system in becoming much stronger in fighting sickness. These are not the only benefits of eating healthy though. According to Health.Gov a healthy diet not only prevents diseases but also heals with sleeping patterns, energy levels, and muscle growth. Sports and activity are not the only way to improve our physical health.

According to Web.MD healthy food also improves our immune system, which is extremely important in times like these.

“If this is so important, why dont you just pack your own lunch?” As a school community that claims to care about our health, we should provide this food because not all students have the money or time to pack a healthy lunch. Students may also forget to pack a lunch or not have enough food at home. Proteins are also important in building muscle, cartilage, and skin. So we should leave the chips, cookies, and fries in the past and start providing foods high in protein like; meats, beans, soy, dairy products, eggs, and seeds.

Regis needs to show its care of students not just in the classroom or counseling office, but also through its food. Students at Regis Jesuit and other schools deserve to get the protein and nutrients they need to not only thrive in school but also flourish long term.

Schools are providing food that is unhealthy and impacting our physical and mental health, while also increasing our risk at disease and other health issues.

If Regis is actively trying to improve our mental and physical health, they should start looking at not only our activity but also the food we eat.