The Bridgeport evening farmer., 1916-04-26
HOME HEALTH CLUB
(Edited by Dr. David H. Reeder, Chi
 cagO.)

cASO)
 SCHOOL LUNCHES: One Of the best bulletins recently sent out by the Department of Agriculture at Washington, covers this subject very well indeed. So important do I con- slider it that am going to quote what I believe to be the most important feature of it in a series of articles: What would school children pe given to eat at noon? What are best for the school lunch basket? The ire quent asking of these questions shows that mothers and others interested in chi1dren's welfare have unusual difficulty in planning this meal. There are no special scientific prtn- cipIes which apply to it more than to the other meals, for, of course, ehoos- ing healthful foods and preparing them carefully are no more necessary at this than at either of the other meals of the chi1ds day. Nor is it wise to study one meal apart from the other two. The three taken to- ,gether must, if they are to satisfy the needs of the growing body, supply several different kinds of food mater 1 ials. It is seldom convenient to pro vide all of these at one meal, and those which are left out of one meal must be supplied at another. Break 1 fast, dinner or lunch and supper 1 should, thefefore. usually be thought of together as necessary to the nlak- i ing of a complete days ration.
 | On the other hand, it is particular | ly difficult to live up to one's ideals in a meal which is almost always hur- | ried and which must often be pre- pared in one place and served in an- other. The midday meal of scho pol | session, has, therefore, problems of it's own and may well be occasionally discussed, as it is in this bulletin, apart from all other meals,
 There are some places, small towns, for example, where dwelling houses and schools are so close together that pupils can easily go home at noon. In these cases the thought or care necessary for the monday meal is along the same lines as that given to breakfast and supper. There are other places, however, and thes in clude large cities as well as rural dis tricts, where children are obliged, be- cause of distance, to remain at school over the noon hour. Under these circumstances most children carry their lunches. Some, however, par ticularly in cities, are given money with which to buy food. This prac[ tfce, is of course, open to dangers for the money is too often spent in shops or at pushearts over which those who are most interested in the chi1dren's welfare have little control. To i'm sure that food is prepared under pro per conditions, lunch counters or lunch rooms have been established in many school buildings where pupils with which to supplement food brought from home. There are schools, too, where the task of pre- pairing lunches, or at least one or two dishes to be served at noon is given to cooking classes as a laboratory or practice exercise.
 ! The essentials of the diet of all nor
 mai children are, of course the same. namely, an abundance of simple foods carefully prepared and of sufficient variety to provide for activity, which in healthy children is almost cease less during waking hours, and for de- ve1opment into healthy manhood and l weFnanhood. For this reason the gem .era1 subject of food for children will hbe discussed before the special prob 1ems of the school lunch.
 One of the chief practical food problems whether children or grown people are concerned, is how to get good, wholesome, clean bread. It has been shown that cereals provide near 1y one-third by weight of all the food eaten by the American people and that they supply nearly half of the protein (commonly referred to as tis- sue building materiaD and nearly two-thirdS of the fuel or energy, The greater part of these cereals is of kcourse, served in the form of Nbread llof one kind -or. another. The quality 1 of the bread which is eaten, is there fore, an extremely important eensid- eration. It is not possible within the limits of this bulletin to give ofreetiens for making bread, nor is it necessary, for recipes can be obtained from any good general cookbook. All that can be done here is to speak of the quali- ties of good bread. These are per- haps most clearly and coneise1y stat ed in the score cards commonly used in bread-judging contests at state fairs, farmers institutes, ana else- where. Such cards are designed es- pecially for judging loaves of wheat bread but with a little modification | they can be used also for breads made wholly or partly of other cereals (cqrn rye, oatmeal, ete.) and for bread in other forms, such as biscuits and rolls. In all cases the character istics of the crust and the erun1b (the inside of the Ioaf), the Hghtness and the flavor are taken into eonsidera- 1 tion.'s
 The next article will tell of the im- portance of milk eggs and other pro-t tein foods. The third article will tell l of fruits and vegetables, I would sug- i gest that these articles be saved and i that you call your neighbors atten- tien to them.
 Anything that improves the health 1 of your neighberw' children, reduces l the chance of disease to your own children.
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