Chicago School Bans Homemade Lunches
By: Anthony Adragna
Published: April 12, 2011

If you attend the Little Village Academy, a Chicago public school, you cannot bring your lunch from home anymore. Principal Elsa Carmona says the decision was made to prevent students from making poor nutritional choices. Students with allergies and medical conditions can still bring their lunches from home.
Why the need to ditch the brown bag lunches? Carmona says she noticed unhealthy sodas and chips kept creeping into her students' lunches. She says the school lunches provide the nutrition necessary for students. Unfortunately, her pupils apparently do not always agree. A recent visit by the Chicago Tribune revealed some complaints about the quality of the meal and showed many students throwing their food away.
Carmona says that other schools in the district followed a similar rule, but declined to provide examples. What do you think? Should schools force students to eat cafeteria food in an effort to promote better nutrition?
Photo by SpecialKRB