New-York tribune., 1909-11-14
SCHOOL LUNCHE0NS
rs TO THE UNDERFED.
I1J ,OOO yictims of Malnutrl-
ton. Says DR.. UHc.

Next 10 truancy. what the children cab
'tummy-achc is the chief cause of absences
I'm the public schools" So saws Dr. Ira =.
Vile. who as a member Of the New York
School Lunch Committee has been looking
into these matters. At recent meeting
of the Home Ecoa0mics Association Dr.
Vile explained some OF the committees
reasons for considering that the schools
ought 10 look out for the chilircn's stom-
achs as well as for their brains.
Roughly speaking. there are one hun
drcd and seventy-fve thousand undcrfed
school children in New York city Dr.
Vile told a Tribune reporter. Il don't
mean breakfastless. Robert Hunter speaks
Of the children who so breakfastless 20
school: but child may snatch swallow
of coffee and bite of toast and rush off 10
school. just because lac or she Is in such
hurry. and make up on the other two
meals. I know that from my own school
days. But there's a vast amount of un
Gerfeeding. DIR. Maxwell said in talk Lc
fore the National Education Association IN
1894 that hundreds of thousands Os chi!-
dTen were unable TO learn because Of
hunger. To know that il is only necessary
To remember how many families there are
whose income falls far short Of what
trained investigators have decided is re-
quired TO support efficiency. a family OF
i've. the average family, cannot live in
New York and keep up 10 the mark physi-
cally on less than $50 a year. and there
are thousands Of families. with plenty Of
children and an income smaller than that.
Poverty isn't the only cause OF Gnderfeed-
ing, either. We find plenty Of cases OF
malnutritiOn in the children OF families
where the income is $50 or s. "A week
That Is because the mother is ignorant in
regard 10 food values School IuncheOns
are needed 10 educate the parents through
the children, much as they are needed
10 nourish the undeTicd."
MORE THAN FEEDING INVOLVED.
Soon after the organization Of the New
York School Lunch Committee. las, April.
it began serving iunchcons in two schools.
Public School -, at No. SO West 18th street,
selected as typical Irish school. and Pub-
lic school e1 typical Italian school AMI
the experiment is still going on. But not
just in the way tho committee hopes il Will
he done by and by. The ideal is 10 have
the children do everything about the lunch
eon-ccoking. serving. eating. Now they
30 the eating. hut the food is cooked and
served 10 them by some one else.
1eu see We are VI these SCHOOLS on
sufferance. as it were. bv permission of the
Board of Education.' Or. Vile explained
The arrangements aren there for having
the children cook. But what We are aiming
for is 70 have the luncheon hour Il part OF
the curriculum-to make # means OF
educating tho children in food values, cook
Ing. how 70 serve meals. table ethics. table
etiquette and all the allied things. And the
children would take home what they
learned, and in doing 50 would help twice
their number, because for every child in
school there are two little ones at hcme."
The committee finds that there are "A
number Of problems To he thrashed out.
For instance, If lunCheoHs were 10 be
served in all the city schools. would it be
better 10 have q central kitchen, cook the
food there and carry il To the different
schools, or would il he better 10 nave each
schools luncheon cooked within it's own
confines? The central kitchen would b. the
more economical plan. but it would blast
the hopes the committee is placing ON tho
educational part of the plan The children
would learn nothing about cooking and
very little about food values. Moreover,
needs vary I'm the various schools. In
schools where the pupils are mostly Jewish
kosher cooking would he required. The
little Italians want thick foods. sn.othered
i'm oil. The Irish boys and girls want thin
ner soups and stews. and they like meats
and vegetables. Every nationality has its
own tastes
WHAT CHILDREN LIKE.
At Public Schools q and Il the commit
tee has tried a number of menus aud sue
ceeded in finding some that are cheap and
nourishiug and that tie chiidTen like. Il
is necessary TO get them down To 4 low