School Lunch Week: The Wrap-up

So we have reached the finale of School Lunch Week.  I hope you’ve enjoyed all the pictures this week.

My biggest problem with school lunch is that everyone is expected to finish what they are served.  And there are a lot of days, mostly of the rice variety, where that is a real struggle for me.  Not being very hungry or being full isn’t really an acceptable excuse.  Neither is not liking something.  I get away with a lot more than my kids do, as I often just don’t take the dishes I don’t like, or can ask for a small portion when the food is being served (although it makes me feel like a bad example).  But the kids not only have to finish their portion, but if there is any food left once everything has been served, someone in the class has to eat it.  I admire the policy of not wasting food, but I’ve seen days where it’s a real struggle for the kids to get through everything. 

At the end of the lunch period the students say, “Gochisosamadeshita.”  This is also hard to translate, but is basically another way to say thank you for the meal, this time after the fact.  After that the kids stack their dishes and clean off their lunch trays.  The students in charge of lunch for the day take all of the empty containers and dishes back down to the school lunch room.  They also take care of any trash from the bread and the milk cartons.  Everyone folds their milk carton down so that they take up a bit less space in the trash. 

After lunch the students brush their teeth, which is another example of school here reinforcing a good life habit that is seen more as a parental responsibility in America. 

 

I should also mention that each school has a nutritionist who creates the menu for the school (or group of school in some cases).  They make sure that the menu is balanced and gives the kids a good amount of calories that their growing bodies need.

Members of AKB48 on a poster at my schools