JESSICA SANCHEZ - [X]PRESS 2.0 Summer school students make their way through the lunch lines at the International Studies Academy.

"The school district provides the same food that they have in prison."

This is only part of the discussion going on in a Facebook group called "Better School Lunches from the SFUSD." The group, created in March 2009, is made up of San Francisco students who are a part of Abraham Lincoln High School's "Green Lunch Project." Leon Sultan, an American Democracy teacher and advisor of the club, leads a group of about 60 students to participate in building a better lunch program, writing letters to Congress for more funding.

School lunches in the San Francisco Unified School District have been the subject of struggle during these past few years, said Dana Woldow, the co-chair of the parent-run Nutrition and Physical Activity Committee. The movement rallies for healthier school lunches instead of empty-calorie foods such as corn dogs and tater tots, she said.

"Lunch is as good as it gets. The government isn't funding enough money," said Woldow.

The fight for healthier school lunches has gained ground over the past few years, including the SFUSD's decision to abolish junk food in 2003 and a $500,000 grant by the Department of Child, Youth and Their Families and the Mayor's Office that established fresh salad bars in the district schools.

Student activity has also increased over the years; Adopt-an-Alleyway, a program from the Chinatown Community Development Center, conducted a student-run poll in 2006 that surveyed high school students about their views on school lunch.

"The feedback was overwhelming. About 91 percent wanted improved food," said Jeffrey Zhang, a former student on the project and sophomore at the University of Berkeley.

Another group trying to improve school meals is Lowell High School's Nutrition Club, which started last school year. The members educate other students about nutritional facts in school lunches by hanging up posters around the school, according to club member, Jacob Schreiber.

The federal government is currently funding $2.57 per meal through the Child Nutrition Act, which must be renewed every five years. It expires on September 30, 2009 and if the program is not renewed, U.S. schools will not receive the option of expanding funding for more nutritious meals, according to Food Research and Action Center.

Less than half of the money per school meal actually goes to food. Forty-four percent of the money goes labor, 44 percent goes to the food itself, and 12 percent goes to other expenses, according to the website of the Student Nutrition and Physical Activity Committee.

"When all is done, we have but a single dollar to spend on the meals. With more money, we can get much better food easily; but until then, we are stuck with rising costs of labor and a fixed amount of money per lunch," said Schreiber, who recently graduated from Lowell and is a member of the recently created Facebook group.

Staff and students at the International Studies Academy also voiced their opinions on school lunches.

"It's what the school district can afford. That's the issue -- the money. If they had more money, the food would be better," said Maria, a cafeteria worker at ISA who declined to give her last name.

"Food is food. But it could be better," said one student.

Another student added, "It didn't taste good. It's not cooked well."

Linda Akiyama, a former teacher who taught for 25 years for SFUSD, said that students had a lot more at stake in their lunch then they might think.

"You can eat things that are healthy and still good tasting," she said. "We are educating kids how to increase the length of their life."