III-

  

III

IIIIIIIIIIIIII

”I

I

'-—I
12.: [I
'cpoom I

A STUDY OF THE ADEOUACY OF THE
NOON LUNCH IN THE RURAL SCHOOLS
OF TWO COUNTIES IN MICHIGAN

THE-SIS FOR THE DEGREE 0F III. 8.

Ruth Evelyn Preston
I931

 

,,8
q.
E

.H
T.

225% '

 

A STUDY OF THE ADEQUACY OF THE moon
LUNCH IN THE RURAL SGHOCLS OF
T50 COUNTIES IN LICHIGAN

BY

Ruth Evelyn fireston

Submitted in partial fulfillment of

the requirements for the degree

of

In

The Graduate School

of

Kiohigan State College

1931

THESWé

 

Acknowledgments

The author wishes to express her sincere
gratitude to Dr. Iarie Dye and to are Sara Cooledge
for their many helpful suggestions in the prepara-

tion of the material contained herein.

1033953

OUTLINE

I- Introduction
A. Review of Literature

B. Purpose and scope of study

11- hethods employed in survey
A. Personal school visit in ClintonCcunty

B. Questionairre method in Jackson County

111- Results of investigation
A. Presentation of data as regards adequacy
of lunches
3. Prevalence and methods of food service
0. Sample of lunches

D. Conclusion

IV- Summary

INTRODUCTION

Since time immemorial the country school child
has been required to carry his noon lunch to school,
where he hastily consumed it as he came to it in the
box, be it cake, pie or doughnuts first. Now has come
the question of the adequacy of these lunches. Not
until comparatively recent years have any methods been
employed to ascertain just exactly what these children
were bringing to eat at noon, and whether or not the
nutritional requirehents of the individual were being
supplied.

Several studies have been.made to determine
the adequacy of the diet of the country school child.
Davies (1) in hassachusetts in 1928-1929 conducted an
extensuve survey covering 800 school buildings in which
she determined the exsnsiveness of the hot lunch as a
supplement to the diet provided by the parents. In this
she found that 71% of the 800 schools had no hot lunch—
es of any kind any time of the year. Hot soups and
hot drinks were served during the winter months only
in set of the schools,and a hot meal during the entire
year in 3%. This study is in reality the precursor
for other sumilar studies, as it is the only one to
date which is directly associated with the child in the

rural elementary schools.

Other investigators have studied the dietary
habits of the rural child, but with no particular
relationship to school lunches. Roberts (2) in a
report of the condition in Kentucky in 1919-1980, points
out the fact that only 28% of 149 children have diets
adequate for their needs as determined by a nutrition
study. These results are not applicable to other
localities, inasmuch as, the survey was made entirely
upon those persons residing in the mountain districts.
Another report with a similar purpose is that of
Reynolds (3), 1926, in Virginia, studying both white
and negro children. Her findings show that only 18%
of 462 children of school age were receiving suffi-
cient food. This fact was shown by,a study of the
health records at the schools, and by personal home
visits where the dietary habits were learned.

With this rather meagre information avail-
able it does not seem that further investigation of
the nutrition of the rural child is needed. One way
of attacking this problem is through a study of the

noon lunch in the rural schools.

Purpose of the Study. The investigation was made with
the purpose of determining the adequacy of the noon
lunch by a qualitative study of the contents of the
lunch boxes.

Scope of the Study. With this purpose in mind a
survey was made of the types of lunches served in two
counties of Southern gichigan. The schools of two
counties were investigated, namely, Clinton and Jack-
son. Clinton County is locsted directly north of the
point from which the survey was conducted; while
Jackson County is located.some 35 miles to the south.
The counties ans divided into townships, and the
townships re—divided into districts with each district
having its own elementary school. Usually this school
is located in such a manner as to serve approximately
two and one-half miles. This, however, is controlled
by three factors; first, the school population or the
number of chilcren of elementary school age, secondly,
the extent to which consolidation has taken place, and

thirdly, to a lesser degree, by the religion of the

community. In a certain section of Clinton County,
there is a heavily pepulated area of Roman Catholics,
which has its own schools Operating independently of
the County School Commissioner. As would be eXpected,
few district schools are located in these townships.
Consolidation, which simply means the combining of
several districts with one large modern school serving
all, in these two counties have taken place in only
two instances.

The data obtained in regard to these lunches
were collected during the month of January, February,
march, and the early part of April.

The total number of children studying in
Clinton County is 1258, With this number attending 82
schools. Cf this number 80 are one-room schools and
two are two-room schools. This county has only one
consolidated school which serves the entire township
of Bath. No data was collected from this, however.

The pupils who are compelled to travel long distances

are called for and returned by school bus. All schools
in the county, with the exception of those located in
the towns and villages, were visited for the collection
of data.

In Jackson County the total schools studied are
73which have an attendance of 1031 pupils. All of the
schcls are comprised of one room. Consolidation, here
had taken place in one instance but no data were obtain-

ed from it.

hETHCD

Two methods were employed in obtaining the
material; first, by direct contact with the teacher
of each school and, second, by the use of questionairres.
Through the kind co—operation of the County School
Commissioners permission was obtained to make a study
in Clinton and Jackson Counties.

The data from Clinton County was secured by

personal visits to the schools. A small card was given

each teacher explaining in detail the desired informa—
tion. In this way she was asked to obtain the age,
grade, and exact contents of the chirhen's lunch boxes.
At the noon hour this was written out by the pupils
under the teacher's supervision. The information was
called for later in the afternoon. The investigator
visited many schools and observed some of the lunches.
The data from Jackson was procured entirely
through the mail. Letters were sent to the teachers
in the schools, accompanied by blanks on which the
pupils wrote their age, grade, and the exact contents
of their lunch boxes. These were collected and mailed
back to the investigator. On two days— non-consecutive—

a report of the lunches was made.

-7-
TABLE I

PRINCIPLE ITLhS IX THE LUNCH BOXES

Clinton Jackson Average
Total Total
1258 2062
Item ho. % No. fl %
milk —————————— 190 15.2 312 14.4 14.8
Hot food -------- 71 5.7 26? 12.9 9.3
Vegetables -------- 97 7.7 240 11.6 9.6
Fruit- Total ----- 643 51.4 1084 50.1 50.7
Fresh ----- 450 35.7 824 39.9 37.8
Canned or Dried- 193 15.3 260 12.6 13.9
heat, eggs, cheese and

fish ————————— 265 .2.6 353 17.1 19.8
Sandwiches ------- 1236 98.8 2141 99.0 98.9
Pastry and Pudding— - - 1013 80.5 1758 88.2 82.8
Candy --------- 115 9.2 137 6.3 7.7
Rolls and.Crackcrs- - - 131 10.4 236 11.4 10.9
Condiments ------- 555 4.3 85 4.1 4.8
miscellaneous- -'- - - - 110 8.7 105 5.0 6.8
.7 17 . 9 .8

Tea and Coffee ----- 10

DISCUSSION

Table I gives a summary of the various items
included in the lunches as found inthe two counties.
The computations are based on the total number of
lunches which in Clinton County was 1258 and in Jack—
son County was 2062. Without doubt the most popular
type of food was sandwiches, since 98.9% of the lunch—
es contained them. It is equally surprising to find
that some children did not have bread of any kind or
a substitute for it. 82.8% of all the lunches had
some pastry or pudding. The item "pastry“ includes
cake, cookies, doughnuts, and sweet crackers. Any one
or all of these foods may have bee: present in a single
lunch. Candy did not appear in many of the lunches;
the average percent for the two codnties being 7.7%.

Fresh fruits, in nearly all of the total 1284

cases, were oranges and apples, with oranges predomin—
ating. The prevalence of a citrus fruit this year is
probably due to its relatively low cost. Canned or

dried fruits, occurring in 13.9% of the lunches, consist-

ed of peaches, pears, cherries, prunes, and raisins.
10.9% of the children had rolls and crackers?
cinnamon rolls, coffee cake, nut bread, muffins,and
both soda and graham crackers. Condiments, wi“h only
three or four exceptions in the 4.2%, means cucumber
pickles. Miscellaneous items include pancakes, p0p~
corn, yeast, macaroni,and jello which were present
in but a small number of the lunches. The factor of
hot feed will be discussed at a later point in connec-

tion with hot food service in the schools.

-10..

TABLE II

FizslflflCIEd CF PARTICULan TYPE: CF LUKQHfiS CCJURAIRG
Clinton Co. Jackson 00.
Total Total Average
1258 2062
Type Ho. 7; No. it ,.
Sandwiches only- — — -39 3.1 73 3.3 3.2

and fruit- - - - -245 19.6 364 16. 18.2

fruit and addition-

al food: - — - — -120 9.6 1'

(L)
(A
03
O

vb
(O
O

O

S:ndwiches,pastry
and additional

food— — - — - - - 144 11.5 228 10.5 11.0

-11-

Table II shows thcprevalence of certain types of
lunches which were found. The idea might be conveyed
from this that no other types were reported. Kumerous
others might also be tabulated, but the percentage of
the total would he too small to be significant. From

Q
I

thisit may be seen that the majority of the lunches may
consist of one or more sandwiches, sons kind of pastry,
an” either fresh or canned fruit. Lunches made up of
sandwiches alone were not very frequent, being 3.2% of
the total. Those comprised of sandwiches, pastry,fruit,
and some additional food, such as meat, eggs, or a
vegetable,were present in 9p of all the menus. This it
is evident that the sandwich-pastry type of lunch, with

or without some additional food,was the most popular.

-13-

TABLE III

FJTaUENCIES 0F VnRIEIIES CF SANDWICHES SUPPLIED

Clinton Jackson Average
Total Total
Kind 1236 2141
Ito. 70 No. 7’0 70
Whole Wheat - - - 4 - - 28 2.0 28 1.1 1.5
Meat 1 ————————— 279 20.4 492 19.4 19.9
Egg ---------- 164 12.0 295 2.4 12.2
Jelly or Jam ----- 139 10.1 314 13.2 11.6
Peanut Butter ----- 129 8.4 287 12. 10.7
Cheese --------- 28 2.0 61 2.5 2.2
Vegetable Fillingg ‘ - 50 3.6 73 3.0 3.3
Bean --------- 24 1.7 41 1.7 1.7
Butter -------- 449 32.8 598 25.2 29.0
Sweet Filling - - - - - 53 3.8 91 3.8 3.8
4 4.0

hiscellaneous ----- 46 3.3 115 4.8

1. Including fish and fowl

2 Including lettuce, onion, vegetable combinations in
ground form.

3 Composed of whitsand brown sugar, honey, maple syrup,
and fruit butter

4 toms - mustard, catsup, sandwich spread, salad dressing

-13-
The occurance of the varieties of sandwiches found
in the lunch boxes is indicated in Table III. Plain
butter sandwiches has used more often than any other
kind. heat sandwiches-19.8fi- are n xt most prevalent,
with egg- 12.2p— , and jelly or jah- 11.6fi- following
in point of use. A nut filling (peanut butter) in the
sandwiches occurred in 10.2%. Cheese or vegetable
fillings, as shown by the respective percentages- 2.2%
and 3.34, did not appear in any other sandwiches. It
is interesting to know that whole wheat bread was used

in only 1.5% of the total lunches.

-14-

TABLE IV
DIb l‘RIBU'l ION CF KINDS 0F .20“)! F0005 am BEVL‘EA GES *
Clinton Jackson
Total Total
Kinds 81 , “’"'
NO. ‘7‘: 250. 7'0
Tomatoes - - - - - - - - ~ -‘ 8 9.8 24 .4
Peas and Carrots - - _ — - — - 19 5.5
’e5etab1e Soup - — - _ - - — 4 4.9 - -
Corn—escelloped - - — — ~ — 15 13.5 88 9.1
Potatoes- various ways — — — 19 23.4 108 37.2
Beans- 'arious ways - _ - - 21 23.9 31 10.9
Creamed beef — — - _ - - - - - 18 6.3
Noodle soup _ - — — — — — 4 4.9 23 8.0
Chili Concaine - - _ _ - — - — 20 7.0
Coffee and Tea - _ — - - - 10 13.3 17 5.9

‘ Percent of

hot lunches of tot

a1 lunches

is

9.3

Table IV represents the distribution of hot foods
and ebverages in the lunches. The total number of
lunches containing hot food for Clinton and Jackson
Counties is 71.and 867 or 5.7% and 18.9% respectively.
This percent omits tea and coffee, which are not con-
sidered as foods although they are hot. The higher
perentage of hot foods being served to the children
in Jackson County may possibly be accounted for by the
presence of both a Home Demonstration Agent and a
Visiting County lures. Clinton County has a nurse,
but her visits are limited to the occasions when she
is sumnoned by the rural teacher. Th matter of hot
lunches, as a whole, rests entirely on the interest
and the ingenuity of the individual teacher and of the
parents.

HOT FOOD SERVICE
Hot food service in the schools is optional,
which fact may be readily assumed from the small number
of schools in which it is in use. The accompanying

table, number IV, gives the total percentage of lunches

-15-

containing hot foods or beverages, and also the fre-
quency of the various foods prepared. The percent of
hot lunches served varies considerably in the two
counties.

In establishing the service in a rural school,
several factors must be considered. It should re'uire
a minimum of additinal time on the part of both the
teacher and of the children; it should not confine the
pupils through the noon hour to the point of deducting
too extensively from the play period in the open air;
and last, it should be of as little expense as seems
possible. The last item is dependent on the community;
and by this expense is not necessarily meant actually
money for purchasing food at the school, but does mean
the expense of preparing the common dish for the entire
group. To some families this will be an added burden

which they would be unable to b>tr.

TYPES CF FCCD SJQVICE IX USE IN CHE-R0 OS SSH 0L5

School A has no eguipr.ent with which to put a
successful service into use. There are families in the
community who are unwillin‘ to co-ogerate in the stablish-

ent ofa ervice, because of their own personal financial
status and because of the additional eXpenditure of time
and labor connected with it. Those pa rents vho are in
sympathy with the project have sent food in glass jars
which is warmed on the heating stove at the school. The
large stoves are round but have a flat top, and on this
a van of water is set in which the jars are placed
heat. A variety of foods are served, including such
things as vegeta abl e soup, creamed peas, tomatoes,and
creamed potatoes. This plan has the advantage of al-
most no work for either teacher or pupil, and adds little
or no extra expense. It has the disadvantage, however,

of requirinr the clildi en to transport heavy food contain-

0

n

ers, vhich in the case of Shall children is quite an added

~18—

burden. It is a simple solution to the question, never—
the less.

School B has no equipment, but the teacher has
devised the plan of baking potatoes on th top of the
stove. This has met the decided approval of the pupils
and nearly every day thry brought potatoes to be baked.
The sole stipulation was that the potatoes must be
cleaned before bringing them to school. Some children
also brought carrots and had them baked. Each child
brought his own plate and utensils with hih from home
and returned them at the end of the day, thereby elim-
inating alldish washing problems. So far as the in-
vestigator was able to learn this method was satisfaaory
to the pupils.

School C has the plan in which each family
alternates in preparing the hot food for a week, and
bringing it to the schosl about 11:50. In this way
all preparation at the school is eliminated and the

a,

necessary cleaning following the lunch is done by two

larger girls. The district school board co-oqerated

by building a cupboard for dishes, towels and lunch
boxes. Each child brought a dish and a spoon :hich they
left at the school. Serving was done by two girls wear—
ing white aprons they had made in sewing class at
school. The teacher is very enthusiastic over the re-
sr ts she obtained, as manifested by the gain of eight
pounds made by one poor boy. This, she says, is a

reward for her hard work.

2- With ecuipment provided.
School A had an nrollment of twelve pupils and

ight grades. The equipment, consisting of a one-burner
oil stove, a few cooking utensils, dish pans, and towels
was all contributed by the parents from their own supply.
Each child also had his own enamel dishes and spoon, which
were kept at the school. The food.was supplied by an
organization of the parents of the pupils called the
Friday Afternoon Club. The members also planned the
menus for the coming week. The food was purchased by the

Club and tahen to the school for preparation by the

eacher. *ech week a different group of girls took turns

washing the dishes, thereby spreadin“ the duties over

the entire gr up. Soups werezserved usually tvice a
week3and on the day of the visit corn soup was the hot
food, using two cans of corn and two quarts of milk,
thus forming a very nutritive dish. In a school oper-
ating on such a basis as this, the service of the h a -
ing stove are not depended upon and hot foods can be
had irrespective of the weather.

School B has an attendance of 21 pupils. The
equipment consists entirely of an electric hot plate
furnished by the school district. The plan is one
whereby each family alternates in preparing hot foods
for one week. This is brought to the school in the
morning and at 11:80 it is put on to warm for the noon
lunch. This system has the advantage of very little
work for the teacher or pupils,and of providing an
Opportunity for considerable variety in supplementary
diSh.

Samples of representative menus are listed

below.

hany new and interesting spellings of different

words were learned; and in not a few cases, the imagina-

tion was appealed to for their interpretation.

Age

Two

14- Grade 8

meat sandwiches

Four graham crackers

One

piece of cake

9 Grade 3

butter sandwiches

16- Grade 8

fi

sandwiches

piece of cake
pieces of meat

of cherry sauce

Age 15- Grade 8
Two cheese sandwiches

Two raisin bread sandwiches
Four cookies

One piece of cake

One orange

One banana

Age 10 Grade 5
One butter sandwich

Cake with‘blue‘ frosting

Age ll- Grade 5
Four egg sandwiches

Ten small pickbs

7 Grade 1 Age 7 Grade 2

:r)
C?!)
(D

Two buttered biscuits Cne mustard sandwich
Two white cookies
Are 11- Grade 5
One orange
Two hamburg sandwiches
A jar of milk
one piece of white cake
Age lO— rade 5
Two liver sausage sandwiches
Dish of corn soup
One cup of tomatoe soup

Two cups of milk

Rose(5) states that a school lunch box should
contain (l)- sandwiches of eggs,peanut butter,meat,
cheese,etc.,(because they are staple, easily portable,
and generally liked; (2)- fruit or a juicy vegetable
such as ripe tomatoes because they are apetizing and
because the succulent quality is especially acceptible
with the dry lunch; (3) a sweet of some kind; and (4)

liquid, preferably milk.

-23-

With these foods as a standard for comparison it is
calculated.fom the data obtained at approximately 6% of
the total number of lunches had a.menu that included
these four items.

In evaluating the lunches from a standpoint of
meeting the dietary requirements of the individual child
certain definite things must be considered; namely,the
energy value, the anount and kind of proteinsapplied,
and the mineral and vitamin intake. These factors are
especially important because the ages of the children
ranged from 6 to 16 years and this is a period of great
growth, both physically and mentally. The fact is
universally accepted that a mind cannot function to its
fullest capacity when the body is undernourished.

An adequate amount of food is absolutely essen—
tial in maintaining the child's weight, and in supplying
him with energy, Calories to supply this may come
from one or from all three sources, protein, fats, and
carbohydrates. Carbohydrates, i.e., starches and sugars,

and fats probably furnish the largest amount of energy,

fiith carbohydrates ranking first. Rose (5) states, "Plant
foods may be called the original source of human energy.“
The animal by consuming the plant is able to convert
vegetable proteins, fats and carbohydrates into animal
proteins, fat and carbohydrates. to serve man for fuel.
For calculating the energy requirements of chil—
dren for the various ages, Rose (4) has constructed a
c nvenien table which gives the number of calories re-
quired per pound of body weight. For children from the
ages of 6 to 16, it has been determined that 32 to 23
calories per pound, for the resgective ages, is essential,
which means an approximate minimum amount of 1500 to
2700 calories per day. The caloric requirement is based

upon the normal weight of the child for his height and

age.
On this basis and assuming that at least 25pto
30% of the total calories for the day should be consumed

at the noon lunch, a study of the data obtained will
give an estimate of the adequacy of the lunch insofar as
energy value is concerned. Since this is not a quantita-

- tive study, definite data in regard to the actual caloric

intake cannot be given. An average of 98.9% of the
children had one sandwich or more, the number ofl calories
given the sandwich depending upon the filling within it.
88.8% had a sweet in the form of pastry and an addition—
:1 7.7% had candy. These foods furnish little other than
carbohydrates. In additicnio these items there are
calories supplied in the milk, fruit, meat, eggs, and
cheese. Table II shows the number of lunches which
occurred most frequently and whidi brings out the fact
that the largest percentage of lunches was comprised of
sandwiches, pastry, and fruit— 18.2%; and the next high—
est percentage was comprised of only sandwiches and
pastry- 18.8%. Those lunches containing sandwiches,
pastry, and an additional food totalled 11%. This type
of lunch may possibly furnish Sufficient calories for
he younger children, but not for the older onas.

The following table shows the distribution of two
sweets, three sweets, three or more sweets, and candy
in the diet. This would seem to indicate that carbohydrate

is the source of most of the calories.

-25-

Clinton Jackson Av.

Type of Food Ho s No. p %
Two sweets - — - - - - — 420 35.5 582 6.9 30.2
Three or more sweets— - - 199 15.8 355 6.4 16.1
Candy - - — - - - - — — - 115 9.q 137 6.3 7.7

 

 

 

 

 

 

The detail of age had its influence on the amount of food
brought in a lunch box, with the younger child having the

the

The smaller pupil, the less

IGLSt amount in this respect. A

food was provided, and this in most instances consisted of
a sandwich, some kind of pastry, or possibly the substi-
tution of a fruit for pastry. This condition prevailed
throughout the entire survey. The older child's lunch
had more from point of quantity, and as a rule it was a
better balanced lunch. This situation may be due to the
desires of the individual child. The older child may
demand more food, and hence the parent supplies a more
aried menu in satisfying this demand. At the same time

they may be content to supuly the younger one with the

{repare, the least expensive ones, and

easiest foods to

those furnishing the least bulk.

.437-

The protein reQuirehent for the growing child is
large in proportion to his weight. This food constitu-
ent is essential for the growth and my aintenance of body
tissue. The standard Rose has set for adult requirement
is % to 1 gram per kilogram of body weight. A safe

margin for the child's use would raise this figure to

1% to 2 sraxs per kilogram. On this level there would

(0

be enough or otein to produce normal growth find a1

0 pre-
vent the utilization of bod] protein in the metabolic
processes. Those foods which are included in the diets
of the children studied ard which contain appreciabl
amounts of protein are mea , eggs, cheese, milk, legumes,
and nuts.

In establishing a minimum standard for protein
intake it has been estimated by Sh herman that the child
at the time of most rapid growth requires but 10% of
his calories in the form of proteins, ifihe diet is of
ample fuel value and the protein is of the right kind.
Therefore,to be certain that the child receives the

proper amount of protein in his lunch, it s1 ould contain

approximately an average serving of meat or an egg,and
at least one glass of milk in addition to one sandwich—
preferably two— With a filling high in protein.

From Table I it can be seen that a comparative-

ly small percentage of the diets contain meat,eggs or

(0
(D

ee- - 13.8fi— as ah average for both counties. hilk,

..J

cl
in 14.8% of the lunches, cannot be relied upon to
appreciably increase the amount of protein, as only 4%
of the lunches contained this item in additionto meat

or sass. 0f the sandwiches, 19.9fi are meat, 12; are
egg, 8.3fi are cheese, 1.73 are bean and 10.7% are

pa nut butter. Therefore, comparing these results with
the standard set it cannot be definitely assumed that
sufficient protein is being supplied.

Further considering that the ages of the rural
child represent a period in whichthere is great develOp—
ment in height and weight, there is a dehand for large

mounts of minerals. Those minerals which are frequent-
ly inadequate in the diet and are essential for the

body are calcium, phOSphorous, and iron. Calcium and

-39..

phosphorous are required for bone and tissue growth

H

mainly, and iron is especially essential fo hemoglobin
formation in the blood.

In taking Rose's figures for the growing child's
needs, a full gram of calaium per day is necessary;
phosphorous-not less than one gram per day— and prefer-
ably more; and iron-.015 grams per day is required.
Vegetables, fruits and milk are chiefly reSponsible for

the calcium and phosphorous of the diet, while eggs,

I"

liver anc meats are relatively high in iron.

To insure an adequate amount of calcium and

rhosphorous per day,the diet should contain a quart of

f

milk; and of this amount at least one glass is necessary
at the noon meal. .ata shows that only 14.3% of the
children had any milk for lunch. The oalciwn and phos-
phorous also come from vegetable and fruits. In the

see items occurred at tre respective percent-

D—J

lunches, ti
es of 9.6% and 50.7%. Iron is probably the most
difficult mineral to obtain in essential amounts; and to
he sure of the requinzuent, one or more eggs are nec-

essary in the diet. This may, however, be replaced by

1

a serving of meat. In the lunches ootaines, 19.8% of
them contained meet, eggs and cheese; but since cheese is
relatively low in iron, this percentage would be still
shaller. Again may be shown the fact that thalargest
percentage of lunches contained only fruit as a source
of minerals. This item is better than none at all, but
still is far fron being sufficiait for children. hese
figures bring out the fact that the mineral requisites
for the noon lunch is decidedly below standard, with the
greatest deficiency in iron.

The vitamins to be considered in thelunches are
Vitamin A, E (US), and 0. Again, with qualitative
mesurements for a.basis, general conclusions can be
drawn as to the vitamin content of the diets. Vitamin A
is a fat,-soluble vitamin, and large amounts of it are
found in butter. Since 93-9W of the lunches contained
sandwiches, and assuming that the bread was buttered in
all cases; it would be safe to say that the children
received a fair amount of Vitamin A. On the other hand,
Vitamin UB, which is abundant in whole grain cereals,
seems to be decidedly deficient. This is noticed in the

fact

-31.

fact that only 1.5% had whole wheat bread in their lunch:
Vitamin C is most prevalent in fruits and vegetables;

and since 37/3fi of the menus had fresh fruits in them-
especially citrus fruits« it can be concluded that for
this percentage of childre, an adequate anount of Vitamin

was being supplied. Taken as a whole, the vitamin

C)

content of the lunches is fairly well met, with the ex—
ception of Vitamin UB.

To give a concrete example of the adequacy of
thelunohes, the following one was selected and the
various constituents calculated as closely as data would

permit without definite amounts of the food being known:

Age 11 Grade 5

Food Cal. Prot. Ca. P FE
2 slices white bread 100 3.60 .011 .036 .00055
2 hamburgs 150 20.44 .012 .-20 .00231
1 white cake 200 - - - -
1 orange 100 1.56 .088 .040 .00039
milk 100 4.76 .174 .134 .00029

Corn soup (with milk} 150 7.14 .261 .201 .00043

 

Total- 800 37.5 .546 .831 .0037?

Figures used in this calculation are taken from Rose (4).
This child's lunch was fairly adequate for his
needs, assuming that he is an average normal child of
11 years. His caloric requirement is calculated to be
from 2100 to 2800 calories per day of which amount he
censuses roughly 800 at the noon lunch, leaving 1300
calories at a minimum to be made up in the two remain-
ing meals. The protein, calcium and phosphorous in—

take of this lunch is about the normal amount, but the

r54

iron tends to be sli rtly helcw average for the age.

Q

Vitamins are about av race with the exception of Vitamin

UB.

Fron this a comparison can be made with those lun h—
es tabulated in Table 2. The general conclusions can be
made that, taken as a whole, the lunches of the rural
school children are inadequate for the body requirenents

—r" ‘-“ ‘ r ,- r. ..-\~. ‘n . ‘-~ J
or the ates represented.

‘ i

SUnnAfiY

1. Data on 3320 lunches representing 2289 rural ele-
mentary grade pupils housed in 155 schools in two
counties in Lichigan were collected.

2. Data are presented concerning the nutritive value
of the lunches, and it is concluded that they are at a
minimum for calories and below standard for protein and
mineral content.

3. Age appeared to be an influencing factor in the

adequacy of the lunch, with a smaller child havine tne

Q

least adequate.

4. hilk was present in only 14.8% of the total
lunches.

5. Hot foods were furnished to 5.7% of the pupils

in Clinton County and to 12.9fi in Jackson; the higher
use in Jackson being pos;ibly accounted for by the

amount of nutrition service done through the field work?

8. Tea and coffee were present in an average of.8fi

of the entire n*mb~r of lunches.

7. Hot f od service is supplied in the schools (1) by

O

'D

the indi*idual children; (2) by the parents preparing
it to be used as a common dish; or (5) by an organi-
zation of people that purchese food for preparation at
the schocl.

8. The contents of the rural school child's luhch as
snOtn by data, tends to indicate he inadequacy of
then, which condition can be greatly relieved through

the more general use of hot food service.

(l)

(4)

BIBLIUGdaPHY

Davies, Esther S.

A q —

rvice in rassachusetts Rural Elamentary

(0‘

Food

)

School'

U

hassacl mu etts Aericultu ral Experiment Station,

Bul.233 19:11 133'

Roberts, Lydia
Eutrition and Care of Children in a hountain
County of Kentucky

U.3.Deot. of Labor. Childrc n's Bureau. Bul. 110 1922

A

Reynolds, Ellen A.
Relation Between Dietary Habits and Health of
Child arch in Rura.1 Sedtions of Vir; Jinia

VirginiaAC ricultural Experiment Station. Bul.250 922

1

"’1‘ v {W v a4.
Rose, nary awaitz

ook for Dietetics

C)

Laboratory ha nd

Rose, fiery Swartz

INTER-“BEAR? Lam
Apr 19 '49

55" 2 81949?

 

132,22 .
' V

M J ,
1“»
*