School lunches leave students with limited options, leaving no room for improvement in the fight against childhood obesity, which affects one in three children. (8) Eating the same repetitive foods high in fat, sugar, preservatives and additives(1) increases the chances of cardiovascular disease and type 2 diabetes in students, to name a few.(2) Even with added enhancements directed by the White House, affect only schools funded by the federal government, excluding private schools. (4) With these weaknesses in our school lunch system, reform is certainly needed to overcome these common problems. School lunches are known to be unhealthy. Perhaps we are now more aware of this thanks to the First Lady, Michelle Obama's campaign for healthier eating at school. In 2012, the U.S. Department of Agriculture released new rules that helped improve the nutritional quality of meals consumed by more than 32 million students whose schools participate in the National School Lunch Program. These rules involve changes that include more fruits, vegetables and whole grains, less fat and sodium, and rational calorie limits. (3) However, these rules are only applicable to schools that comply with the National School Lunch Programme, of which private schools are not part. The program itself represents a big step forward towards healthy school lunch reform. But as Anne Gordon, a senior research fellow at Mathematica Policy Research in Princeton, NJ, said, “We need to explore other ways to make change.” (2) Gordon then said, “[this] could include things like providing more training and technical assistance to schools, providing more funding for nutrition education.” Providing additional training or funding would not only be beneficial... mid-paper ......dy Find Value for Children's Health by the National School Lunch Program, November 9, 2012 . Web 2014. .7. Gross, Bambi. Personal interview. 9 February 2014. Diaz, Von What happened to Michelle Obama's school lunch program?, 9 September 2013. Web. D, Elizabeth Ink, 2013. Web. 9 February 2014. .10, Marie C. School lunches to be healthier: have more fruit, vegetables, whole grains, 25 January 2012 Web. 9 February 2014. .11. 2014.