At the beginning of the 19th century, a shoemaker from Portsmouth (United Kingdom) founded a school for children from families without financial resources: they were also fed at that school. The Industrial Revolution was being the time of more changes for Humanity since the Neolithic, but settlement in cities, adaptation to production processes and working hours, while ensuring the welfare of families, was not easy for many.
From that moment collective feeding was progressively implanted throughout the world, in order to correct the malnutrition of schoolchildren. But long before (the end of the 12th century) a tradition with its own name began in Japan: Bentõ, which consisted of preparing 'healthy food' to take away. Despite having fallen into disuse at some point in the last century, during the 80s the Japanese returned to take their cakes (initially made of wood and nowadays with plastic) to the offices and schools.
In Spain there are already families that cannot afford the school canteen, and although at home it is not eaten anywhere, economic precariousness forces many parents to perform jobs that occupy part of their children's school day. According to data of the Federation of Entities of Attention to Children and Adolescents of Catalonia, malnutrition already reaches 4.4% of children. And this figure is precisely one of the axes of the debate that began at the beginning of June in that autonomous community, when the Government declared as of the next course they would be approved recommendations for the use of lunch boxes in school canteens. And it is that the issue is more complex than it seems because schools should have measures to ensure food security, and on the other hand it is feared that many children do not carry food in conditions.
After Catalonia, the Valencian Community has also started talking about a measure that neither the Federations of Associations of Mothers and Fathers, nor the directors of Primary has liked. But the reduction of dining scholarships and the situation of families has been the trigger to study alternatives. The Ministry of Education of this community talks about considering the initiative with rigor and seriousness, and taking into account the spaces / schedules of the service, the need for all students who eat at school are supervised, as well as the guarantee that the food you take arrives in good condition to their mouths.
Problems that can occur when taking food from home to school.
IntegrationIf the children who take the cake to school are few and sit at the same table as the others, they may feel displaced. Placing them on different tables is discrimination.
Allergies, intolerant or allergic children should be taken into account, even if there is no menu for them. Because others may take 'forbidden food' from home, and be tempted to share them.
Place where you eat, the fact of bringing food from home does not mean that you can eat anywhere (this can happen in Secondary), especially if it is not a place for food. You should think about possible contamination.
It is undeniable that if the measures are implemented, the schools must have refrigerators, microwaves, and good planning that includes the personnel assigned to supervise the warming, educate the large students, protect the small ones, and act in case of intoxication
Hygiene recommendations for greater safety in lunchbox food.
Let's not lose sight of the importance of keep the cold chain in every moment. If the safety and quality of food is altered, the activity of microorganisms is encouraged.
Once the dish is cooked, it will be taken into account do not enter it hot in the recipiente, having to let it cool to room temperature. Once cold, cover and take to the refrigerator until it is time to go to school. At school the containers will be deposited in the fridge with an identification tag.
Children should know that lunch boxes should be handled with clean hands.
The tightly closed tupper has enough thermal capacity, and is also suitable for sensitive foods.
At school microwaves and refrigerators will be kept clean (including the boards). Care must be taken to ensure that the dishes heat evenly.
The absence of previous experiences requires that the process develops very carefully, so as not to harm the health of the students. In addition, the impact on the integration of children who arrive with their lunchbox at the dining room table should be assessed. And of course consider that some families will not be able to put a meal in good condition in the children's pan.
We have just begun a stage in which dining scholarships will be awarded according to income criteria, although sand fears that needy families will stay out of aid. If there is a group that can also be affected by a measure not yet specified, it is (without a doubt) that of the hospitality companies that produce school menus. But clearly now is the time to put children and their rights at the center of the debate.
