Second graders serve up an "awesome" lunch

Food and Nutrition, Oct, 1985 by Wini Scheffler

Second Graders Serve Up An "Awesome' Lunch . . .

Neal, Denise, Andy, and Melissa were hungrier than usual as they carried their trays to a table in the Stratham, New Hampshire, elementary school cafeteria recently. The four second graders had just completed a task they described as "awesome:' serving a meal to 175 of their schoolmates.

For Joan Sewall, the school lunch manager at Stratham Memorial School, the challenge was strictly routine. At least once a month, she invites students from grades one through six into her kitchen to help prepare a meal.

"It is the best way I know to allow youngsters to actively participate in the school lunch program and to learn about nutrition at the same time,' she says.

Planning menus is the first step

The key to working with children, says Sewall, is organizing carefully in advance. She first invites each class to select a date to play host to their schoolmates. She then visits the children in their classrooms to advise them on writing menus. She talks to them about the types of food required for a balanced meal and hands out copies of sample recipes from each of the four food groups.

"We give them a free hand on planning,' she says. "They are not limited to items we list. Sometimes they pick up ideas from television food product commercials. All we require is that our nutrition guidelines be met.'

Pizza is a reliable favorite as a main course, although one class chose a traditional meal of pork chops, mashed potatoes, and gravy. Lasagna is also popular. Desserts selected have included red-and-green layered jello and yellow cake that is striped by filling in holes with jello.

Tasks simplified and spread out

When the chosen date approaches, Sewall spreads the tasks of preparing a meal over several days.

"For a typical menu,' she says, "the children might prepare dessert one day, clean and cut up salad greens the next, and on the third day, prepare the main course. When that task is done, another group serves the meal. A different team takes on each assignment. This keeps the kitchen from becoming too crowded and also reduces time away from studies.'

Sewall and her assistant, Dorothy Bragdon, simplify the tasks beforehand so that even the youngest children can take a hands-on role. For instance, they buy prepared pizza and have the children add more tomato sauce and extra sprinkles of USDA-donated cheese. With lasagna, children mix prepared sauces, and layer them with cheese and noodles.

Teachers of the younger children are especially enthusiastic about the meal project because the activities can be readily built into their lesson plans. "As soon as school starts each fall, one of our teachers is waiting to reserve a date for her class to host the lunch,' says Sewall. "Her students begin far in advance making place mats and lunchroom decorations.'

Other activities are also popular

The class-sponsored meals are not Sewall's only effort to keep up interest in the lunch program. Monday is "lucky tray' day, and the two children who find stars on their trays win a special treat--such as an extra dessert--and a free meal for a guest. Students invite their parents or, if their parents are working, a grandparent or sibling.

"This is a good way to show parents what their children are eating, and to bring into the schools parents who might not come otherwise,' Sewall says. "When our building was enlarged recently, it was partly because visiting parents had seen how crowded the classrooms were and spoke up for us at the town meeting.'

Sewall has introduced for educational purposes a salad bar, which is very popular with the children. Not only does it teach the value of fresh vegetables, but it reduces plate waste by allowing children to select their favorites.

Another teaching device is a "good and bad snack' tray that may be requested for classroom use. The children are given tasty snacks that have been prepared to teach them about good nutrition.

Training is a source of ideas

Sewall reports that many of the ideas she uses for menus and services were developed during a unique training course for food service managers sponsored by the New Hampshire Department of Education several years ago.

For the course, the University of New Hampshire equipped a special mobile unit as a combination classroom and test kitchen. Sewall was among the managers who took the 8-week course when the teaching van was parked in their area of the state.

She, in turn, shares her practical experience in food management and her skill in working with children with other school food managers. Recently, Gwen Copeland of the state department of education videotaped Sewall and the children at work in the kitchen at Stratham.

"The state officials who were present at the taping were nervous about having young children chop vegetables,' Copeland says. "But Joan has only as many children as she can instruct and supervise carefully, and there have been no cut fingers.'

"Children can handle more than people give them credit for,' Sewall says. "I learned that from my years of experience as a local 4H Club leader.'