- School dinner
A school dinner is a
meal (usuallydinner orlunch ) provided tostudent s at aschool . It is usually served at sometime aroundnoon .Some schools have theme days whereby food is served in a particular style. For example, the school might serve
Chinese cuisine to celebrate theChinese New Year .chool dinner by country
United States
The National School Lunch Program was created in 1946 when President Truman signed the
National School Lunch Act into law. The National School Lunch Program is a federal nutrition assistance program operating in over 101,000 public and non-profit private schools and residential care institutions. Regulated and administered at the federal level by the Food and Nutrition Service of the United States Department of Agriculture (USDA), it currently provides nutritionally balanced, low-cost or free lunches to more than 30 million U.S. children each school day. In its 60 year history, the program has expanded to include the School Breakfast Program, Snack Program, Child and Adult Care Feeding Program and the Summer Food Service Program. At the State level, the National School Lunch Program is usually administered by State education agencies, who operate the program through agreements with school food authorities. Generally, public or nonprofit private schools of high school grade or under and public or nonprofit private residential child care institutions may or may not participate in the school lunch program. School districts and independent schools that choose to take part in the lunch program get cash minimal subsidies and donated commodities from the USDA for each meal they serve. In return, they must serve lunches that meet Federal requirements, and they must offer free or reduced price lunches to eligible children. School food authorities can also be reimbursed for snacks served to children through age 18 in after-school educational or enrichment programs.School lunches must meet the applicable recommendations of the Dietary Guidelines for Americans, which state that no more than 30 percent of an individual's calories come from fat, and less than 10 percent from saturated fat. Regulations also establish a standard for school lunches to provide one-third of the Recommended Dietary Allowances of protein, Vitamin A, Vitamin C, iron, calcium, and calories. School lunches must meet Federal nutrition requirements over the course of one week's worth of lunches served, but decisions about what specific foods to serve and how they are prepared are made by local school food authorities. The 2001 School Nutrition and Dietary Assessment II (SNDA II) study based on research by the U.S. Department of Agriculture during the 1998–1999 school year found that students in 91% of secondary schools and 82% of elementary schools had the opportunity to select lunches that were consistent with dietary standards for fat and saturated fat.
School nutrition programs are increasingly using more whole grains, fruits and vegetables, lean protein and lowfat dairy in school lunches. Efforts such as the Local School Wellness Policies required by the 2004 Child Nutrition and WIC Reauthorization Act have involved parents, students and the school community in efforts to promote healthy eating environments and increased physical activity throughout school campuses.
United Kingdom
School dinners became a big topic in the UK in 2004 when
chef Jamie Oliver spearheaded a campaign to improve the quality of the meals. School dinners at state schools are usually made by outside caterers whose incentive is increasing their profits. Since many of the requirements for nutritional content were removed in the 1980s, there is little reason for caterers to sell anything other than the most profitable food, which will be the cheapest that children will eat. After a television documentary was shown onChannel 4 ("Jamie's School Dinners "), the public showed support for the increase of funding for school meals, causing the government to create theSchool Food Trust . The topic became a factor in the 2005 UK general election.The term "school pudding" has become a common colloquialism in the United Kingdom for certain types of pudding traditionally (historically) served with school dinners in both state schools and private schools. Examples include tarts such as
gypsy tart andmanchester tart and hot puddings such asspotted dick andtreacle sponge pudding . [British celebrity chef Gordon Ramsay discusses [http://www.timesonline.co.uk/tol/life_and_style/food_and_drink/gordon_ramsay/article1304892.ece school puddings as comfort food] in the on-line (London) Times newspaper.]Japan
In Japan, 99% of elementary school students and 82% of junior high school students eat "kyūshoku", or school lunch. [ [http://www.mext.go.jp/b_menu/toukei/001/index24a.htm Investigations about school dinner 学校給食実施状況調査, 文部科学省, 2004 (in Japanese)] ] Parents pay 250 to 300 yen per student for the cost of the ingredients, with labour costs being funded by local authorities. The tradition started in the early 20th century. After the war – which brought near-famine conditions to Japan – the provision of school lunches was re-introduced in urban areas, initially with
skimmed milk powder and laterflour donated by an American charity. School lunch was extended to all elementary schools in Japan in 1952 and, with the enaction of the School Lunch Law, to junior high schools in 1954.Menu
Usually, all meals provided on a given day are identical for all pupils of a Japanese school. The menu is planned by
dietician s and changes daily. The average menu has gone through a large deal of change since the basic meals of the 1950s, as Japan grew economically.School lunches were traditionally based on
bread orbread roll , bottled or cartonedmilk (introduced from 1958 to replace milk powder), a dessert, and a dish which changed daily. Popular dishes from the early days included inexpensive protein sources, such as stewed bean dishes and fried white fish. Whale meat, another cheap protein, was common until the 1970s. Provisions ofrice were introduced in 1976, following a surplus of (government-distributed) Japanese rice, and became increasingly frequent during the 1980s.Hamburg steak ,stew andJapanese curry became staples as well. Today, school lunches are a diverse affair, including soup and side dishes. Dishes range from Asian dishes such asnaengmyeon ,tom yam andma po tofu , to western dishes such asspaghetti ,stew and clamchowder .Finland
Free school dinners in elementary and secondary schools have been served nationwide since October 9, 1948 [TV Newscast 2008-10-09, MTV3 channel] . In some cities poor people were offered free school dinners from the beginning of the 20th century (eg. from 1902 in
Kuopio , extending to all students in 1945 [ [http://www.koulut.kuopio.fi/Koulu125/1872/ka1872.htm 1872: Daily life in Schools: Free School dinner in Kuopio. City of Kuopio, 1997.] ] ).In Finland also the lunches in Higher Education are subsidized. The Social Insurance Institution of Finland compensates 1,67 euros per student's daily meal.
Special diets based on religious, cultural or ethical choices or restrictions due to allergies are served with no extra cost.
weden
School dinner has been free in Swedish elementary and secondary schools since 1973. Normally, the lunch is prepared like a
buffet , where pupils serve themselves as much as they want (mainly potatoes/rice, meat/fish and vegetables).Milk and water are usually offered as drinks.India
"See also
Mid-day Meal Scheme "Under the Integrated Child Development Services (ICDS), government schools and partially aided schools, along with
Anganwadi s, provide mid-day meals to the students attending such institutions, known as theMid-day Meal Scheme . The meals served are free of cost and meet guidelines that have been set by the policy. The history of the program can be traced to 1925, making it one of the oldest free food programs for school children.A single afternoon lunch usually contains a cereal which is locally available, made in a way acceptable to the prevailing local customs. Vegetables cooked as curry or soups and a portion of milk is allotted for each child. The menu is occcasionally varied to appeal to students.
ee also
*
Free school meal s
*HealthTeacher
*Nutrition
*Personal, Social and Health Education
*School dinner
*School Food Trust
*School Health Education Study
*School health services References
* http://icds.gov.in/
* http://www.schoolsandhealth.org/sites/ffeExternal links
*
Channel 4 site for " [http://www.channel4.com/life/microsites/J/jamies_school_dinners/index.html Jamie's School Dinners] "
*" [http://www.bbc.co.uk/food/food_matters/schoolmeals.shtml Food matters] " site byBBC
*Mississippi Teacher Corps Focus Paper on [http://www.olemiss.edu/programs/mtc/Participants/TheMTCExperience/focus/focus_06.htm School Lunch]
*" [http://www.freetoeat.org RCS FreeToEat - Info on Rawmarsh School]
* [http://www.bl.uk/learning/histcitizen/foodstories/index.html Food Stories] — Explore a century of revolutionary change in UK food culture on the British Library's Food Stories website
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