The Bridgeport evening farmer., 1916-05-25
home HEALTH CLUB
EDITED by DR.. David H ReSder, Chi
cago)

SCfIOOILUNCHES (Continued) Tt
cannot be doubted that the health of
children depends very much upon the
food they eat. The quality of the pick
up lunch served in school at noon is
of great Importance and will now be
discussed, Parents and teachers as
sociations existing all over the coun-
try for the benefit of school children,
would be wise to give the matter close
attention and study. Upon request of
many I add this final article on the
subject of school lunches.
''The basket lunch is harder to plan
AMI also to prepare than the lunch at
home. To begin with, there are many
foods which cannot be included in it,
either because they are not good cold
or because they cannot be convenient
1y packed or easily carried. This
leaves fewer foods to choose from,
and so extra care is necessary to pre-
vent sameness. Extra care is needed,
too, in the preparation of foods that
must be packed in small compass and
kept for several hours before being
eaten and that must very often be
carried over dusty roads.
Many kinds of lunch boxes, pals
and baskets are now the market.
Baskets can, of course, be washed or
scalded, but not easily as metal
containers and they should be fire.
quently cIeansed There should, in
that cannot be cleaned. For this rea-
son the simplest boxes and baskets
are often better than the more e1aD-
crate ones with compartments in
which to keep dishes, knives, forks
and spoons. The precautions which
must be taken to keep foods clean
and safe differ with circumstances. In
dusty seasons they should be wrap
ped particularly well. In hot weathe err
the use of soft, moist foods in which
| nolds and bacteria are most likely to
grow rapidly should be avoided. AL
though chopped meat moistened with
a dressing of some kind makes a good
sandwich filling, such foods are less
| desirable in hot weather than slices
of meat, peanut butter or other foous
| less liable to spoil.
Paper napkins or the somewhat
heavier paper towels of much the
same size are very useful for packing
lunches and like parafftn and parch-
ment paper, may now be had at a low
price, particularly if bought in rather
made in the school for serving
lunches, an extra napkin, either of
paper or cloth should be put in the
| basket to be spread over the school
desk when the lunch is eaten. In
packing the lunch basket put at the
| bottom the things least likely to crush
and wrap the sandwiches, ETC., into
neat parcels, not all in one. Paper
cups; jelly tumblers with covers,
which can now be bought in several
| sizes, bottles with screw tops, such
as those in which candy and some
other foods are sold; and small jars
can all be used for packing jellies,
jams and honey as we'll as other foods
The quality of the bread used in the
basket lunch is especially important
because it is commonly served in the
form of sandwiches and is, therefore,
to be considered not only as food in
itself, but also a means of keeping
other much needed foods in good and
| appetizing condition or of serving
them in attractive ways. Variety in
breads, too, is more important at this
| than at other meals because OF the
| danger of monotOny. Wheat bread,
whoIe-wheat bread, corn, rye or oat-
meal breads; nut, raisin and date
| breads; beaten biscuit, rolls crisp bak-
! ing powder biscuit or soda biscuit and
toast; zweibach and crackers may be
used in turn to give variety. Rolls
| followed out can be made to hold a
/ large amount of sandwich filling,
which is an advantage at times.
Here are a few suggestions of bills
of fare for the basket lunch: Sand
wiches with sliced tender meat for
Jumps of sugar.
| Crisp rolls, followed out and filled
withc hoped meat or fish, moistened
and seasoned or mixed with salad
dressing; orange, apple, mixture of
sliced fruits. or berries; cake.
| Lettuce or celery sandwiches; cup
custard; jelly sandwiches.
| Cottage cheese and chopped green
pepper sandwiches or pot of cream
cheese with bread-and-butter sand
wiches; fruit, cake.
Bottle of milk; thin corn bread and
butter; dates; apple.
Raisin or nut bread with butter;
cheese; orange; maple sugar
Three or four different kinds of
such foods as above mentioned are