Ellsworth American. [volume] (Ellsworth, Me.) 1855-current, 1926-11-24
ELLSWORTH RED CROSS
NURSING SERVICE
MRS. BERTHA BULLOCK SMITH
Community Nurse
HEALTH HINTS,

HEALlH HlNlS.
Prof. Happy says "Say bye
bye to bonbons. AS time goes on,
you'll find far more romance in a
dish Of rice pudding than in box
of chocolates"
THE SCHOOL CHILD'S LUNCH.
After bordering for one year an
indictment returned against the
popular "hot dog" sandwich by the
local commissioner of health, the
mayor of a town in Massachusetts,
recently got himself conspicuously
into print by issuing an ultimatum
forbidding their sale to school chill
dren at lunch time.
"The world does move" as a
pioneer in science declared years
ago, and the example cited is just
one of many that proves how rap
idly it is moving where questions
of the nations health are concerned.
Jack and Jill, fortified by lunch
con comprising an uncertain num-
Der of "hot dogs" certainly could
not be expected to return to class
in the best possible condition for
concentrated mental effort.
In rural communities, children
often bring for their luncheon a
slab of pie and an apple, heavy
sandwiches, cake and similar cold
products of the home kitchen.
Sometimes they don't bring any
luncheon at all. But, by and large,
the old days of the heavy, cold
luncheon are fading into history.
Soorph1jQht or
science upon the problem of the
growing child and his needs, pa
rents and teachers, doctors and
nurses, have discovered that the
school child who has hot, nutritious
food at noon suffers less fatigue and
restlessness during the afternoon,
ranks higher in scholarship and has
lower rate of sickness for the
year.
Progress has followed swiftly in
the wake of this discovery, and
many ingenious plans are being de-
veloped for providing hot luncheons
for the youngsters at minimum
expenditure if, indeed, any ex-
penditure is required.
In small schools, each mother
provides. in turn, some dish which
can be reheated easily at school,
such as thick soups, meat !oaf'
creamed vegetables, baked beans or
escalloped pota toes. These are
used to supplement the usual
luncheon of sandwiches, fruit, milk
and dessert.
Another plan is to have each fam
ily contribute food stuffs TO be pre-
pared at school-pOtatoe5 to DaKe,
vegetables for soup, milk for cocoa
and canned products. The teacher
and a committee plan the menus for
several weeks ahead and arrange
the articles to be contributed ny
each family.
Another plan which has proved
highly popular in rural schoois IS
to have each child bring from nome
glass jar containing food TO be
reheated. A pan large enough TO
fit on the top of the stove is pro-
vided with a low wooden rack upon
which the jars may stand immersed
in water. Thus is established
primitive but highly effective "dou-
BILE boiler =,
In some schools two-burner Oil
stoves have been purchased as
"heaters," while an ordinary WASH
boiler is used as container for the
water and jars. When the children
arrive in the morning, the jars are
nut into the boiler, at II the fires
are lighted, and at II the hot dish
which supplements the luncheon is
ready.
In larger schools, boasting 40
nestle science course, members OF
the domestic science class them
selves prepare a warm luncheon
which is sold to the children AT
cost. This scheme has been high
ly approved by number of school
authorities. :,
BY this outline of various we'll
established plans to solve the
problem of the school chl!d
luncheon, the fact that the not
luncheon is no longer an experiment
is amply proved. Both pupils ana
teachers in schools which have
initiated it would not give 1t up,
for it lightens the burden OF the
entire school day and has proved
economical because it reduces SO
effectively the amount of time lost
ILL