School meal

“ Occasionally a regular dinner is provided. We have already mentioned the experiment made at Rousdon 124by Sir Henry Peek in 1876. This has been continued to the present day. A hot dinner is provided daily, consisting of one course, soup with bread and vegetables two days a week, and some form of suet pudding the other three days. About half the children stay for the dinner and pay one penny each, these payments just about covering the cost of the food. The meal is served in a dining-room in the school and the ex-headmaster and the present headmaster voluntarily undertake the supervision. ”

“ Cooking with school age kids can be a lot of fun, as long as it's presented as a treat instead of a chore. You might, for a start, get them involved in planning the week's menu. I know some families who allow each child to pick the main dish for one meal a week. Older children actually get to cook their choice. My daughter-in-law, Jan Perdue, suggests getting kids to pick out meals with an ethnic or international theme so that mealtime is a time to explore other cultures as well as a time to eat. ”

“ There will generally be no difficulty in providing, where it is so desired, a school dinner at a fixed price in the middle of the day, attended by children for whom, by reason of 107distance from the school or because the mother's absence makes a home meal difficult, the parent prefers to take advantage of an arrangement similar to that now in operation in most secondary day schools. ”

“ In many centres the number of infants is so few as to make the preparation of a separate diet hardly worth while, and the provision of special food has been known to give rise to jealousy on the part of the elder children.
Ordinarily one meal a day is provided, this meal being almost invariably dinner, but in cases of special necessity or delicacy an additional meal may be given. This meal may be either breakfast, milk or codliver oil. The practice varies in each school. In some schools breakfast is never given, or given only in very rare cases. ”

“ It is true that the dinners, unlike those supplied at the end of the century, when the predominant feature was soup, seem always to have been substantial and to have consisted of hot meat. [9] But making all allowance for the nutritive value of the meal, its infrequency prevents us from placing much confidence in the enthusiastic reports of the various societies as to the beneficial result upon the children. "Experience has proved," writes the Destitute Children's Dinner Society in 1867, "that one substantial meat dinner per week has a marked effect on the health and powers of the children." ”

“ By midday the parents, especially in districts where there is much casual labour, may have earned enough to provide some sort of a meal. But the arguments in favour of breakfast—as the sole meal provided—are largely based not so much on the child's physical needs as on the moral effect produced both on the child and the parent. The provision of breakfast furnishes a test of need. The meal is not so popular as dinner, and will only attract those who are really hungry. ”

“ As much of the food as possible should be placed on the table before the family are seated, and the plates or dishes removed at once after using. No matter how simple the meal may be, every housekeeper should see that it is served neatly and on time. Teachers may exercise a far-reaching influence in the refining of home life by impressing upon the pupils the importance of these—too often considered—minor matters, and by giving minute instructions in the setting of table and serving the meal. ”

“ In the cloak-rooms there is not always room for a table, and the children sometimes have to sit along the walls, holding their mugs of cocoa or their basins of soup on their knees. When the class-rooms are utilised the food has to be placed on the desks; nothing in the nature of table-cloths is provided, and the state of the desks after the children, the infants especially, have eaten soup or bread and syrup, can be well imagined. Often the breakfasts arrive late, and the children have consequently to be hurried over the meal so that the class-rooms may be got ready for school. ”

“ In the rural districts, as we have already shown, it is imperative that dinner should be provided for all who want to stay. Numbers of children are unable to return home, and it is almost impossible for the parents to provide suitable cold food for them to take with them; even when they can go home to dinner they 225frequently have a long walk, with the consequence that the meal must be eaten hastily and the children hurry back to school immediately afterwards. ”

“ George Finch points out, "the authority which requires the child to spend its day away from home might not unreasonably be expected by the parents to make some provision that its midday meal might be taken under not unfavourable conditions. The parent, however conscientious, cannot adequately deal with the problem, and the provision of suitable cold food is not an easy matter, even in the more well-to-do family." [370] The meals should be served as part of the school curriculum and might well be combined with the teaching of cookery as is done at Grassington. ”

“ A somewhat similar plan has been tried at Grassington, in Yorkshire. When, eighteen years ago, the teaching of cookery was introduced, it was resolved to combine with that instruction the provision of a hot midday meal. The children not only cook the dinner themselves, but they take it in turns to order and pay for the materials, thus acquiring the valuable knowledge how to buy. They are taught the value of the different foodstuffs and learn how to make a good substantial dinner at a little cost. ”

“ Moreover, the bringing in of the tables and forms, an operation which has to be begun twenty minutes before the end of morning school, causes a considerable commotion. On the day of our visit 160 children, boys, girls and infants, were receiving dinner. For this number there were only one supervisor and two servers, assisted by five or six monitresses chosen from among the elder children. As a result of this inadequate supervision the meal was served in a perfect babel of noise; the children shouted and screamed and banged their spoons on the table. ”

“ In twenty other schools insufficient 157provision was made for washing up the utensils used and, "as food was served to the children in successive relays, two or more children used each drinking vessel or plate before it had been washed." "The usual meal has been a dinner of soup (sometimes containing meat) , with, in certain cases, a form of pudding as an alternative. In the great majority of cases this was the daily meal for months without variety." ”

“ George's-in-the-East formerly only breakfasts were given, but now dinners are given in addition to all the children on the feeding-list; the breakfast is used as a test, the theory being that if the child does not come for breakfast it shall not receive dinner, but in practice this plan is not strictly carried out. Milk and codliver oil are given in most schools, when recommended by the School Doctor; in some schools milk is also given on economic grounds, as an additional meal to specially necessitous children, instead of breakfast. ”

“ In Philadelphia the Starr Center Association undertook school feeding in some schools over fifteen years ago, but it is now managed by the Home and School League. Several of the schools provide a meal, some at 10.30 a.m., others a fuller meal at midday. The cost is one cent for lunch and three to five cents for dinner. There is one hot dish of soup or rice pudding, etc., and the children may spend another cent on the "extra" dainty. The meals are self-supporting. The teachers co-operate enthusiastically, and sometimes eat with the children. ”

“ Care should be taken in planning meals for this class to avoid food which requires much oxygen, such as fresh pork, fried food, sausage, warm bread, pastry, griddle cakes, etc. The mid-day meal of a brain worker or business man should be light; a soup, glass of milk (hot or cold) , fruit, bread and butter, vegetable salad, a broiled chop or steak, etc., are suitable for luncheon. ”

“ Active, growing youngsters need good food to do well in school. And since the eating habits established in childhood affect later tastes and practices, school meals also provide a unique opportunity to understand and enjoy good nutrition. ”

“ Thanks to this practical and effective program, children and adolescents in school cafeterias across our country not only have the opportunity to enjoy a wholesome and balanced meal each day, but they also begin to understand the importance of making healthy eating choices. ”

“ As far as the children are concerned, indeed, whether we consider the improvement in physique, mental capacity or manners, there is no doubt that the provision of school meals has proved of the greatest benefit. ”

“ The children begin their meal as soon as they enter, without waiting till the others have come in so that all may begin together in an orderly manner. Grace is said halfway through the meal. As soon as a child has finished the first course (of which it is allowed to have a second helping, if desired) , it is given a piece of cake or bun which it eats outside in the street. ”

“ THE EFFECT OF SCHOOL MEALS ON THE CHILDREN Since the causes of malnutrition are so many and diverse it is obvious that this defect cannot be remedied or prevented solely by the provision of school meals. But that the provision of wholesome food at regular hours has a marked effect in the improvement of the physique of the children, there is abundant evidence. ”

“ School lunches also teach children good dietary habits. Cafeterias become learning laboratories, putting into practice the classroom lessons learned by the students on the importance of nutrition to health and well-being. ”

“ During National School Lunch Week, we recognize dedicated parents, school officials, community leaders, and food service professionals for their efforts to ensure that our children are provided with nutritious meals each day. ”

“ The age, sex, nationality, economic condition and occupation of the patrons must be kept in mind. The adult demands a freedom of choice which may be denied children. For this reason the content of the grade school lunch may be fixed in an arbitrary way, while this will not do when one is dealing with adults of any class. For instance, grade school children are satisfied with the morning bowl of bread and milk and the noon lunch of bread and soup. Adults, even in a charitable home, would undoubtedly complain of the simplicity of such meals. ”