According to the USDA, a typical school lunch exceeds the recommended 500 milligrams of sodium. To be precise, most school lunches serve meals with more than 1000 milligrams of sodium. Across the United States, elementary, middle and high school students are forced to eat what they are served instead of what they brought from home. While the school-provided lunch may be healthier than the one the student brought with them, there should be no need to inhibit these actions. Many parents of students at these schools were outraged to find that their healthy, homemade lunches were being replaced by the school's gluten-rich meals. According to Outside The Beltway's James Joyner, a preschooler had her packed lunch taken away because an official at her school labeled it "unhealthy." The girls' lunch consisted of a turkey and cheese sandwich, a banana, chips and a bag of apple juice. His lunch was said to have "not met USDA guidelines." USDA guidelines state that lunches (whether brought from home or provided by the school) must include a serving of the following foods: grains, milk (dairy), meat (protein), and fruits or vegetables. Additionally, if your child is missing one of the foods, a child care provider should provide that missing item. Instead of providing her with the missing food, the packed lunch official took her entire lunchbox and made the girl eat her school lunch (which was chicken nuggets). The reason for this gesture is not yet clear to the child's mother. The USDA reports that less than one-third of schools in the United States fall below the recommended standard for fat content in meals. It seems like more schools in the middle of the paper… are pro-children? Do they really care? Many have come to the conclusion that several schools in the United States are not caring for their students as they should. It is sad and very scary for parents when they hear that their children and/or other children have not eaten, have been forced to eat something they don't want to eat, or have had a severe allergic reaction to something they were forced to eat. These conditions are unsafe and should be taken very seriously. Children admire these workers and teachers; they see them as very powerful adult figures. Parents teach their children to respect adults and be obedient towards them, but how can that be effective if what the adult says to them could hurt them or put the child in some sort of danger? Forcing children to eat at school is not a good idea, no one wants to be responsible for a lost life.