A social norm of every kid growing up is to have a peanut butter sandwich for lunch at school. For most kids, it was procedure to have one of your parents pack you a bagged lunch of a sandwich and some snacks and a drink, normally a juice box. The sandwich has been a staple of ones childhood for many generations for several reasons.  It is simple and easy to make, due to the fact that it uses the two, readily available ingredients of bread and peanut butter. In addition, it is not too messy for kids to eat, and can be eaten with your fingers. The peanut butter contains protein, and therefore important nutritional value for children. For these reasons and because of the social norm associated with it, I too also made this delicious sandwich my personal food choice for my school lunches throughout the year. A food item as simple as a peanut butter sandwich can show how influential a social norm can be, and what an impact it has on the choices others can make.

This social norm of a peanut butter sandwich relates most directly to school lunch systems of school districts, and the changes that they have made over the past few years. Due to several factors, such as child obesity, health, and even awareness of allergies like a peanut butter allergy, schools have chosen to put more of an emphasis on the lunches they serve themselves. Many schools have even chosen to implement a rule that bans bringing your own packed lunch, and instead incorporate the costs of a school lunch into tuition. This is to ensure healthy, safe eating, and to prevent those with allergies of having to worry about what others are eating around them. This, in turn, can also relate to food waste, because every kid is obviously not going to like every lunch that is served, and as a result, will end up wasting it when they do not eat it. This new rule benefits those with allergies greatly, but does the food waste have others wishing back the days of the classic packed peanut butter sandwich?