FOR WOMEN SCHOOL LUNCHES

Auckland Star, Volume LXXVI, Issue 214, 10 September 1945, Page 3

FOR WOMEN SCHOOL LUNCHES

DIET EXPERIMENT

PUPILS' CLUB AT MANUKAU

A "school lunch" experiment which might well provide a stimulus for similar experiments in other- schools is being carried out at the Manukau Intermediate School. It actually functions as a lunch club, to which any child in the school was originally able to belong. However, the club became so popular that only 48 could be accommodated, and there is now a waiting list of pupils eager to join. v

The idea was originated two years ago by Dr. Guy Chapman, who gained the co-operation of the principal of the Manukau Intermediate School, Mr. H. Binsted, in carrying out the experiment." The object of the venture is to give school children a well-balanced meal, comprising those essential food requirements which are so often missing from their lunches. Permission was gained from the Education Board to erect equipment, the assistance of the Parent-Teachers' Association was sought, the services of two Auckland doctors and a local dentist were offered, and a city contractor donated the material and labour for the building of a dining-room at the school. A well-known Auckland citizen donated £150 to meet initial expenditure, and manufacturers promised regular donations of certain foods, such as dried milk powder, a concentrated yeast product, and a vitamin solution. A system for keeping records of the children's progress was evolved and the scheme was instituted in March of this year.

A description of the experiment is given by the Bulletin of the New Zealand Women's Food Value League. Records are kept of the heights and weights of the children, state of the teeth, condition of health and educational quotient, indicating the effect on school work. At the same time, for tne purpose of comparison, records are also kept of selected children who are not members of the club, but who are paired with those in the club of similar educational ability and physique. The whole group, comprising 96 children, will be re-examined at the end of the year.

The lunches are prepared by a rota of 30 women of the ParentTeachers' Association, two of whom give their time each day. The responsibility of marketing and catering is in the hands of a married woman, and the school garden supplies vegetables. To cover food costs, 6d a day is paid by each child. The daily aim for each child is to supply three ounces of raw salad greens, selecting particularly, those high in vitamin C and mineral salts; three slices of wholemeal bread, together with a sufficient quantity of a yeast preparation to provide the required quota of vitamin B complex; the usual school ration of milk reinforced with skim milk powder, bringing the intake of milk to the equivalent of a pint and a quarter; a vitamised vanilla solution containing concentrates of vitajnins A, D and E (this being added to the milk, making a very palatable drink); cheese, dried fruits and "crunch home-baked by two women from the Nutritional Committee.

Here is a typical day's menu:— Salad: Lettuce, carrot, parsley, nasturtium leaves, celery, silver beet, red .beet tops, chives, spring onions, turnip tops, radishes and tops, mustard, cress and shredded cabbage. Honey, butter, dates, crunch. Wholemeal bread, cheese, dripping, skim milk powder, concentrated yeast spread, half a pint of milk, plus one dessertspoon vitamised vanilla.