371.716 P219s 371.716 P219s February, 1921 Extension Circular No. 41 UNIVERSITY OF ILLINOIS COLLEGE OF AGRICULTURE Extension Service in Agriculture and Home Economics IN COOPERATION WITH THE UNITED STATES DEPARTMENT OP AGRICULTURE W. F. HANDSCHIN, VICE-DIRECTOR THE SCHOOL LUNCH By MARY PACK URBANA, ILLINOIS Contents of Extension Circular No. 41 Page ( Ihoice of Foods Affects the Health 1 How To Select Meals To I'uomote Health 4 The ( 'old School Lunch 5 Suggested Cold Lunches 6 Sandwich Preparation " Selection of the Lunch Pox 8 Packing the Lunch !l A Hot Dish for Rural Schools 10 The School Pantry 12 Food Calendar Between pages 12 and 13 A Hot Dish in Town Schools IS Hot Dishes Suitable for School Lunches Ill Counties Offering Credit to Teachers Serving the Hot Lunch 23 THE SCHOOL LUNCH By MARY PACK, Assistant in Home Economics Extension The purpose of this bulletin is to show the mother and child how suitable school lunches may be selected and prepared, and to show parents, teachers, and children how one hot dish may be served in rural and town schools. The Bureau of Child Hygiene of New York City, as a result of examining 171,000 school children, has estimated that twenty-one children out of every hundred are seriously undernourished in that city, a? n .d that about sixty-one are only passable from the standpoint of nutrition. Dr. T. D. "Wood, a noted child specialist, is authority for the statement that the situation in the country is even more seri- ous than in the city, and that country children attending rural schools are on the average less healthy and are handicapped by more physical defects than are the children in the cities, including all the children of the slums. A better selection of foods for the school lunch and the introduc- tion of the hot dish into rural schools is aimed to correct in a measure some of the faulty dietary habits which are partly responsible for this lower health standard among country children. Twenty-four counties in Illinois are reported as serving the hot lunch in a total of 346 schools ; and seventy-nine counties are offering the. teachers who direct the serving of the hot lunch credit for the renewal of their certificates. 1 PEEaNT .5 1.0 1,5 2 i> 30 35 4'o 45 ■| tun vt A VllioiDS ETC DtrEGT-5 XALIiUTRiT lo/ G L A *l DS GT<5 COUNTRY rtOTs CITY 1*5 % 4/ " trUL kKCtD ' £ A R^ J5ETE S> R.IATHI/IG J5E ■■■■♦.la E222 Comparison of Health Defects of Country and City School Children Based on reports of over half a million children. 'See page 23 for list of counties. Extension Circular No. 41 [February, CHOICE OP FOODS AFFECTS THE HEALTH Girls and boys are building the physical houses in which they are to live. If, like some carpenters, they select a poor grade of material, or all one type of material, they will not have strong, useful buildings. By the time they reach middle age, their houses, which in reality are their bodies, will be worn out, and need endless repairs. Uidess the five definite groups of foods which have been found necessary for growth and maintenance are given to the child, he will not thrive. He will be undernourished, abnormally susceptible to dis- ease, generally tired and sluggish, and lacking in mental alertness. HOW TO SELECT MEALS TO PROMOTE HEALTH Many mothers have not had an opportunity to study food values. They are give their very best, knowledge anxious to children the but lack of along this Fig. 2. — Shelters of this Splendid Type tor Stock are to be Found in the Same Districts ual keeping the calendar must be checked in its respective column. When meals have been classified in this way, it is a simple matter for the individ- ual to glance over the daily page to see whether or not something has been eaten from each of the five groups of food each day without an ex- cess from any one group. line makes it difficult. There is available now a "food calendar," which makes the planning of adequate meals a very simple process. 1 One page of this calendar is inserted in this circular. At the end of each meal or each day the food consumed by the individ- Fig. 3. — That Have Provided this Most In- adequate Type of School for the Children 'The Food Calendar. Pre- pared by Nina B. Crigler. Published by the Extension Service of the Department of Hnnie Economics, Uni- versity of Illinois. This calendar will be sent upon receipt of twenty-five cents. 1981] The School Lunch In most cases it is advisable to have the child responsible for check- ing his calendar. In this way he becomes interested in eating whole- some foods which formerly he has refused, in order to have all five groups checked. In planning a child's diet, especial emphasis must be placed upon all the foods in GROUP I and upon the milk in GROUP II. The Fig. 4. — This Well-Lighted, Clean Bural School in M< Lean- County Has Served Hot Lunches for Two Years growing child needs plenty of mineral matter to build good teeth and bones, and organic acids to aid in the digestion of his foods. The vegetables and fruits of GROUP I will furnish these mineral matters and organic acids. They will also furnish the bulky material, or roughage, which is valuable as a preventive for constipation. The milk of GROUP II furnishes protein for growing boys and girls in a form which is readily assimilated. It is also valuable as a source of mineral matter ; in fact milk has been pronounced by food specialists to be one of our most perfect foods. Doctors advocate from a pint and a half to a quart of milk a day per child. Arc your children getting their just portion? If they have an aversion to drinking milk, be sure to give them their portion in cooked foods, such as soups, custards, milk toast, etc. The hot school lunch will help you to do this. THE COLD SCHOOL LUX* II The cold lunch which a child has to carry to school should be planned with more, instead of less, care than the other two meals of the day, as there are a limited number of foods which are appetizing after having been packed for four hours. It is one of the child's three daily meals, and therefore should furnish its proportion of the total calorics figured as necessary each clay for proper growth and development. Extension Circular No. 41 [February, Too often the child or the mother hastily slips the remains from breakfast into the child's lunch pail, and inadequate lunches such as the following arc the result. INADEQUATE LUNCHES (1) Broad and meat Mince pie (2) Fried potatoes Bread and pie These two lunches were supplied by mothers who were interested in doing their best for their children. Both lunches, however, are lacking in the foods of GROUP I, the mineral matter and organic acids, which are essential for health. WELL-PLANNED LUNCHES There is no reason why a school lunch should not contain a satis- fying variety of funds. A lunch should be planned so as to include — 1. A substantial food, such as buttered bread, cottage-cheese sandwiches, hard-cooked eggs, or bean loaf 2. A juicy fruit or vegetable, such as an orange, an apple, or tomatoes 3. A simple dessert, such as baked custard, rice or bread pud- ding, or plain cake SUGGESTED COLD LUNCHES 1 bean sandwich 2 celery sandwiches 1 cup canned peaches in small jar 1 cup cake II •_' brown-bread sandwiches 1 i cup cottage cheese 1 prune sandwich Fresh fruit III 2 bread-and-butter sandwiches 1 raisin-bread sandwich 1 cup canned cherries in jar V 2 scrambled-egg sandwiches (not cooked in fat) 1 serving of rhubarb cooked with raisins 2 slices coffee cake [V 2 cottage-cheese sandwiches 1 jelly sandwich 1 tomato (fresh or canned) served with salad dressing, in small jar '_' cookies VI 1 slice meat or bean loaf 2 bread-and-butter sandwiches 1 small jar of apple sauce 19S1] The School Lunch 7 VII VIII 2 crisp rolls buttered 2 oatmeal-bread sandwiches •4 prunes stuffed with nuts 1 stuffed egg and cottage cheese 1 small piece sweet chocolate 1 orange 1 serving of apricot or other 1 cup custard baked in individ- fruit whip ual ramekin Any of these lunches would be improved by the addition of a bowl of hot milk soup, or a cup of cocoa. This can easily be in- cluded if a vacuum bottle is provided, or more easily by installing the hot lunch at the school. SANDWICH PREPARATION As sandwiches are used in practically every cold lunch, a few simple suggestions regarding their preparation, which will greatly improve them, are included here: 1. Use a variety of breads — graham, whole wheat, oatmeal, cornmeal, rye, steamed brown bread, raisin bread, etc. 2. Vary the thickness of the slice according to the child's appe- tite 3. Cream the butter; then spread it on both slices of the sand- wich. The butter tends to prevent a soft filling from making the bread soggy 4. Use a variety of fillings Fillings : 1. Meats, sliced thin Fish, boned and seasoned 2. Meat Substitutes: a. Beans: navy, lima, or soy, pulped, seasoned, and moistened with salad dressing or cream b. Ntits alone or combined with celery, lettuce, eggs, or cottage cheese c. Eggs, hard-cooked and sliced, or scrambled with milk d. Cheese, cream or cottage. The latter may be combined with honey e. Peanut butter, mixed thoroly with an equal portion of milk or water 3. Succulent Fillings: a. Lettuce. May be wrapped in a damp paper and then waxed paper to keep crisp. Spread between bread just before eating b. Celery or cabbage. Chopped nuts may be added, seasoned with salt or dressing Extension Circular No. -11 [February, 4. Simple Sweet Fillings: a. Eaw or cooked prunes, dates, figs, apricots or raisins. Pulp any one or combine any two or three. Add a few drops of the juice of lemon or other acid fruit SELECTION OF THE LUNCH BOX An ideal lunch box is so constructed that a daily scalding will keep it in a perfectly sanitary condition. It is not air-tight, because Fig. 5. — A Tin Lunch Box Having a Vacuum Bottle in Which Food May be Kept Hot some circulation of air helps to prevent the mingling of flavors. Lastly, it is compact, for this prevents the jostling of the food. Unsatisfactory Containers for Lunches: Paper sack — does not keep the food fresh Cardboard box — not generally kept clean Filler or cloth box — absorbs odors and is difficult to clean Satisfactory Lunch Boxes: Tin pail, with five or six nail holes for ventilation Granite pail, with very loose-fitting lid or a tin lid with air holes Tin folding box Tin box with vacuum jar The School Lunch PACKING THE LUNCH Many good lunches are unappetizing by noon because they have been carelessly packed. For a very small sum, the following supplies may be had which make easier the packing of the lunch : Waxed paper Plain paper napkins Rubber bands or toothpicks For semi-solid foods, a screw-top jar; or a jelly glass with close-fitting lid; or parchment containers A busy mother does not have time to pack a fancy lunch before school, but she should take time to prepare a simple lunch which will not be monotonous and unappetizing. The mother may lay out the Fig. 6. — A Tin, Folding Lunch Bos In this box has been packed this simple lunch, compactly arranged, the sandwiches wrapped. A bowl of hot soup has beeu added to the lunch. food and let the child pack the lunch. In a very few minutes the sandwiches, cake, etc., may be wrapped in separate' pieces of waxed paper. This will help to prevent the mingling of flavors, and will keep the food fresher. A rubber band or toothpicks may be used to hold the paper in place. The jar or parchment container will make it possible to include canned fruits, soft puddings, and fruit whips in the lunch. These make a more healthful dessert than pie. Heavy foods should be placed on the bottom of the container. Any empty spaces should be filled with wadded paper. 10 Extension Circular No. 41 [February, A HOT DISH FOR RURAL SCHOOLS Teachers and parents who do not realize the ease with which a hot dish may be provided to supplement the cold lunch ask if it will not take too much school time. Those who have actually carried on the work, however, report that the preparation of one simple hot dish requires but twenty to thirty minutes of the school time of one or two pupils; and they further report, as a direct result of serving the hot nourishing' food — Improved deportment Improved health Improved scholarship Improved attendance A bowl of hot soup makes a cold lunch more easily digested and more enjoyable. The hot dish to supplement the cold lunch — a. Gives the child a more normal diet b. Gives the teacher an opportunity to train the children to enjoy a variety of foods. This may be done by making a bargain that each individual is to eat at least two teaspoonfuls of every food each time it is served c. Encourages the children to eat their lunches more leisurely d. Helps to train the children to \u.rk effectively and successfully with others. This training should make better citizens EQUIPMENT FOR PREPARING A HOT DISH Neither elaborate nor expensive equipment is necessary for the preparing of a hot dish. In a number of schools the hot lunch has been prepared over the school heater, the only extra equipment being a large kettle, a spoon, and a measuring cup. Each child brought his own plate, cup, and spoon from home. However, no teacher should be asked to supervise tire hot lunch with such meager equipment. If it were a question of feeding tin 1 stock, the necessary $25 or $30 for a good kerosene stove, double boiler, and other utensils would be spent without question. The following types of equipment have been successfully used in various schools in Illinois. These are illustrated in Figs. 7 and 8. Good Equipment Cupboard (made by the boys) . . (?) 2 teas] is $ .10 Two-burner oil stove $16.65 1 fork 15 8-quart aluminum kettle and lid 2.20 2 paring knives 46 6-quart double boiler 3.00 Butcher knife 69 2-quart sauce pan (aluminum) .69 Can opener 23 1-quart measuring cup 53 Egg beater 23 Measuring cup 10 wire dish drainer and pan 1.10 Dish pan 85 Fin less cooker (homemade) and Soup ladle (aluminum) 25 kettle 1.25 Long-handle spoon (aluminum) .32 Asbestos mat 10 2 tablespoons 20 ■ Total $29.12 1921] The School Lunch 11 Equipment Brought by Each Child Bowl Teaspoon China or granite cup (not tin or Soup spoon aluminum, for handle gets hot) Fork Plate Knife Excellent Equipment Kitchen cabinet $50.00 Kitchen sink (?) 3-burner oil stove 22.50 2-burner oven 5.00 8-quart kettle and lid (aluminum) 2.25 6-quart double boiler 3.00 2-quart sauce pan 69 ?mall bowl 35 1-quart measuring cup (aluminum) 53 Measuring cup 10 Dish pan (granite) 1.00 5-quart teakettle (aluminum) . 2.85 Wire dish drainer with pan... 1.10 Sieve 20 Total Soup ladle i Long-handle spoon (aluminum) 2 tablespoons 2 teaspoons 2 forks 2 paring knives Can opener Butcher knife Spoon whip Potato masher Fireless cooker (homemade) . . 2 trays Asbestos mat Pudding pan, 4-quart .32 .20 .10 .15 .46 .40 .69 .15 .23 .15 1.25 1.00 .10 1.10 .$96.12 Individual Equipment Purchased by School 2 dozen large cups and saucers (china) $5.90 2 dozen plates (pie size) 3.00 2 dozen soup bowls 5.00 Total $26.78 2 dozen teaspoons $2.48 2 dozen soup spoons 3.20 2 dozen forks and knives '. 7.20 HOW TO OBTAIN EQUIPMENT The equipment may be purchased — ■ a. By the school directors b. By any local club c. By the school, with funds raised from an entertainment Or the equipment may be donated by interested parents. In Logan county a school shower was held, each person bringing some necessary utensil for the school kitchenette. 1'J Extension Circular No. 41 [February, THE SCHOOL PANTRY When the hot dish served is to be prepared at school, it is ad- visable to have a few staple supplies kept in the building. Where it is possible to have a steel kitchen cabinet, the matter of storing and protecting these supplies from mice is simple. However, other inex- pensive cupboards may be successfully used; for instance, in one place an old bookcase was converted into a cupboard. The food was stored in large tin cans and glass jars. Another school has used an old-fashioned washstand for its cupboard. In a number of places, the older boys of the school or community have made packing boxes into suitable cupboards. It is essential that this cupboard have space in it for the storing of the cooking utensils and dishes, as well as the staple supplies. If the dishes are not put away where they can be protected from dust, it will be necessary to spend time each day cleansing them before they are suitable for use. Three methods of obtaining the pantry supplies have been found successful in different communities: 1. At the first meeting of the parents and teacher the items on the list of necessary staples are divided evenly among those parents whose children are to partake of the hot dish. 2. The teacher or interested parents order the essential supplies. The bill for this food is met in one of three ways ; namely : a. By assessing each child a small sum b. By the school directors c. By money raised from a school entertainment mmkwnm Fig. 7. — Equipment Owned by a C< immunity Club, Kept at the School and Used for Hot Lunches / _ — — .-* C/J r — £ r 2 a — w — K - i — I-H r [* c ^ — y- a '- _ — > /. 02 - - W /. ^ ^ , l-H _ 2 r. - - - X - - - - — En CO CO c 9 •= 2 - r — - - - — -- o 2 Make generous use of water. Drink at least 6 glasses every day. Choose watery foods, succulent fruits and vegetables, beverages, and soups to supply more water in the diet. Include bulky foods in the diet. They not only promote digestion but help to correct con- stipation. They are essential in a healthy diet. Eat coarse foods, fruit, and vegetables every day. c - 1 :c a. — T /: - 2 - = a. — "7 c : X - E- X — " rr — -. a — x ■i X a a 3 x 'c r x 1 - 6 > I \ I x x o. : •_ x y V ■J B r. a - 3 x — — -— - - 6 x S 3 * r . •_ j 3 a - M. u C X -- x 3 3 Fruit gelatin ... GROUP II Lean meats >> zL'-Z, X O o X CJ — X - X •v — - - CO — ~ - : cj : x _a: 13 x 3 43 6 '3 *2 a a X E 3 b 3 — X : - — 01 - CO o CJ O w 3 1 ' — - - — = See that the teeth are clean, sound, and healthy — they are an index to good digestion. To keep them in good condition, bone and teeth foods (those that furnish minerals to the diet) must be provided. Out-of-door exercise is essential for parent and child. 1 he right kind of exercise and recre- ation may prevent headache and stomach trouble. Get plenty of sleep and plenty of fresh air. "The only night air that is injurious is last night's. Open the windows and let it out." i V CO — - — E ~ ■- = z — - C — CB -- a u CO - CO C ct u - a CO - - — ct t = - - V — — .CI - E-i — CO — ; .: ~ - CO O — CT C ; — — : n C > c - a: f > . Eh r - o ■- — - — - ■- a; c u cd ■at = - 6J - r i. - C cu S3 ; > — -<- > " '7> a o - — — cu u CB — CS - -- CB ct — CB : CO > CO CO £ ■f. a o t salt and onion and heat. BUTTERED VEGETABLES % e cooked vegetable 1 T butter Let heat for a few moments. Simple Desserts: RICE AND RAISINS % c rice l/ 2 e boiling water Cook in tireless cooker. Serve with i/ 8 cup raisins or dates and milk. 22 Extension Circular No. 41 [February, HOT APPLE SAUCE Pare and core 1 apple, slice ; add 1 teaspoon sugar and Vs tea- spoon cinnamon or nutmeg. Partially cover with water, cook until tender. Serve hot. SOFT CUSTARD i/o c milk Few grains salt V-2 e gg 1 drop flavoring or %6 t 1 t sugar grated nutmeg Scald milk in double boiler. Beat yolk, add salt and sugar, and pour on gradually the scalded milk. Pour mixture back into top of double boiler and stir constantly until it looks creamy or coats the spoon and the foam has disappeared ; then remove immediately from the hot water. Cool and add flavoring desired; vanilla, orange, or lemon exti'act. The white of the egg may be beaten, slightly sweet- ened, and served on top of the custard. If the custard curdles, it has cooked too long. Put pan in cold Water and beat until smooth. 1911] The School Lunch 23 The following seventy-nine counties are now offering the teachers who serve the hot lunch credit toward the renewal of their certifi- cates. In sixteen of these counties the home adviser helped to establish the hot lunches. Adams Boone Brown Bureau Carroll Cass Champaign Christian Clark Clinton Coles Cook Crawford DeKalb DeWitt Douglas DuPage Edgar Edwards Effingham Ford Franklin Fulton Greene Grundy Henderson Henry Monroe Iroquois Montgomery Jackson Morgan Jasper Moultrie Jefferson Ogle Jersey Perry Johnson Piatt Kane Pike Kankakee Pope Kendall Pulaski Knox Putnam Lake Sangamon LaSallo Scott Lawrence Schuyler Lee Shelby Livingston St. Clair Macoupin Stark McDonough Union McHenry Vermilion McLean Wabash Madison Warren Marion Washington Marshall Whiteside Mason Will Massac Williamson Menard Woodford Mercer Extension Circular No. 41 university of ilunois-urbana 3 0112 046099443 Remarks made by teachers who have served the hot lunch : "You get much more out of the hot lunch than you put into it." — Mercer county. "The children take time to eat their lunches and en- joy them, while before, some would probably eat 'on the run,' or eat at recess; now they take time and enjoy their lunches, all at the same time. They get more va- riety in food." — LaSalle county. "I have found that the hot lunch keeps the children from becoming restless in the afternoon and that they do better work. They eat their dinners much more slowly and I know that indigestion has been given a hard blow." — Livingston county. That county superintendents of schools heartily en- dorse the hot school lunch is shown by the following ex- tract from a typical letter: "I would be willing to give almost any credit to the teacher for organizing and maintaining this work in a manner at all praiseworthy. I trust that another year will see more of our schools serving the hot lunches."