Evening public ledger. [volume] (Philadelphia [Pa.]) 1914-1942, 1915-08-25
FOOD FOR THE BODY IN THE SCHOOLS
The Somac Place in the Educational System Is Recognized in
the penny Lunch Plans Be Carried Into Effect This
Year-Pupils to Teach Parents
By EDWARD R. BUSHNELL

usually a breakfast of coffee or tea and
rolls.
Not only this, but we found that seventy
per cent of the grammar school children are
permitted to drink either coffee or tea every
morning for their breakfast. What we wish
to accomplish this fall is to secure proper CO.
operation between the schools and the home
in the matter of getting better nourishment
for the children. We realize that we have to
reach the parents to achieve this. We have
medical inspectors who look after the health
of the children and our recreation system
supervises the sports and bodybuilding ex-
ercises of the children Now we wish to
reach the parents themselves. To that end
there will be started this fall a series of
meetings in the various school buildings at
which experts will speak to the parents, and
in language that they can easily understand.
on such subjects as foods and food values.
sanitation, personal hygiene and so forth.
AS soon as our school lunches are in opera
tion moving pictures will be made of them
and shown throughout the city. 1t is all a
part of our plan to secure better cooperation
between the school and the home"
Better Fed and Better Students
Quite as astonishing as the lack of proper
foods were the sample breakfasts which
some of the children told about in reply to
questions. Here are a few of them
boy subsisted, through the forenoon on
doughnuts and a cup of coffee.
A girl started the day with ladyfingers and
coffee.
boy reveled in a cup of coffee, sliced sal
mon hard boiled eggs rolls, jelly and milk
This, as Doctor CARRIER pointed out, was not
only indigestible, but the combination of milk
and Gpl,r
stomach
another child.
A boy 10 years of age had pretzels and
cheese. To this was added at noon a lunch
of tea, bread and cheese.
girl made her breakfast on tea, candy
| and cake And for her lunch she devoured
sardines.
Other breakfasts consisted of bologna and
tea; fish, rolls, milk and beans; coffee, cab
| bage and bread cinnamon buns and coffee.
An under-nourished child or one suffer-
ing from indigestion makes an irritable or
| a lethargic student" declared Doctor Gar
| Der. Almost without exception an investi-
! cation into the home life of such children
| has brought to light the fact that improper
food or not enough of it are responsible.
| If we can prevent children of this age from
using coffee and tea and educate them 70
| the necessity of eating enough and the
| proper kind of food the inevitable result will
be not only healthier lot Of children. but
better students
I'm addition to the departments work in
! furnishing the penny lunches, and in the
talks and lectures to the parents, we expeet
to accomplish great deal by the new COURSE
is physiology. This Is to begin with the
! opening of the fall term OF course the
human body viii be taught scientifcalIv
but emphasis will also be placed on the
study Of the body as a means 10 hetter
health We shall try particularly to impress
upon the children the effect Of foods ana
food values. 1t Is natural to assume that
II the children are taught these things thew
VIII tell their parents about them. ana even
II we never see the parents at our tneetinSs
we believe that the course in physioloev
VIII help the parents quite as much as their
children"
FURNISHING penny lunches is really an
English Idea II has its origin in the indus
trial and mining centres where the lahorers
are much more poorly paid than in America
IL differed from the Philadelphia experimen,
In that the Government gave financial as
slstanee which cheapened the cost OF the
lunch TO the children. In Philadelphia tha
charity feature win be eliminated rha
lunches furnished here win be AZ Cos.
WHAT THE DUKE SAID
saS IHs .l,n Daks OF wellington, OF course. never