The Washington times., 1919-09-14
The Full Lunch Box
Bg Mrs. Christine Frederick,
The Distinguished Authority on Household Efficiency

true that ten-year-old boy eats as
much in quantity as an adult man,
and he should in order to keep him
going.
The thing for mothers to know
is that a large part of this food
need must be met by the lunch the
child takes to school or by the
lunch provided by the school. In
many cases, as has been suggested,
it is preferable to have a school
lunchroom, particularly for the
high grades. This does not mean
free food, by any means. 1t simply
means food prepared at cost and
arranged for wholesome choice.
For instance, the child that
might formerly spend a nickel for
buns and a nickel for a cream cone
could for the same sum secure
bowl of soup, a dish Of macaroni
and some form of pudding. Let me
repeat that every possible chance
mothers have of working for such
school lunchrooms should be
pushed to the greatest success.
But if this is not possible, owing
to the neighborhOod or other con-
ditions, then it is the mothers re-
sponsibility to provide an adequate
lunch. If the child can go home at
noon, of course it is far better to
have a hot meal than simply sand.
Wiches.
We must not be thought harsh
in saying that too many women fail
to provide a noon meal Of the right
kind Sometimes they have only a
piece of sausage and bread or sim
ply leftover portions from the pre-
vious night. No mother should be
unwilling to take the trouble to
make the children's noon meal ade-
quate and satisfying, both to health
and appetite. Supply and cook
warm dishes in cold weather and
see that they include sufficient
bodybuilding food, such as either
meat or eggs, peanut butter and
especially milk. A milk soup is an
ideal cold weather noon lunch for
children.
But if, unfortunately, the child
has to take lunch box, then that,
too, should be the object of the
mothers greatest soIicitude.
know from experience that it is a
somewhat tedious thing to prepare
lunches day after day. There
seems to be so few new foods!
Children get tired Of the same
things easily, and here is a chance
for ingenuity and love to be shown
in a concrete way. A great many
leftover pieces Of meat can be run
through the food chopper, seasoned
and used as sandwich filings. Sim
ilarly, cheese may be ground to a
paste, spiced and used in sand
wiches. A glass jar holding a half
pint or less, with close-fitting
cover, is excellent for carrying
stewed fruits, desserts and sim
liar dishes.
Many kinds of dried or canned
fish are wholesome changes. Salad
dressing or mayonnaise makes
some Of the plainest foods appetiz-
ing. Cake seems a necessary ad-
junct, but it is better to have a
small cookie or cup, cake than a
slice Of layer cake, which does not
carry so well.
The success of the school lunch
box depends on putting foods in
separate wrappings, so they will
not mash and become soft. There
are several new models Of lunch
boxes on the market, some of excel
lent tin having a compartment for
sandwiches and another one to
hold a vacuum bottle. These small,
unbreakable bottles will keep any
liquid hot for hours and offer an
excellent way of giving the child
a hot food drink, such as cocoa.
matted milk, etc.
Nuts are not to be omitted from
the lunch box, for they are rich in
fat, minerals and energy, and if
well chewed make one of the best
foods for growing children.