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Statement of Inquiry -> Choices we make about what we eat are influenced by our culture and the context in which we live, and might send messages about who we are.

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Statement of Inquiry -> Choices we make about what we eat are influenced by our culture and the context in which we live, and might send messages about who we are.

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Everyone will take part: How did this story make you feel/ think?

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Everyone will take part: How did this story make you feel/ think?

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Everyone will take part: Discuss the main theme of the story - summarize briefly

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Everyone will take part: Discuss the main theme of the story - summarize briefly

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Who is writing down the summary? Yumi+Maria

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Who is writing down the summary? Yumi+Maria

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Maria:
1) According to this article. Because of the monks' lunch program's success, schools all across the world have begun to provide lunches for students.

2)School meals were delivered in porcelain plates and other dishes during the first year, to provide a home atmosphere.

3) Due to local food shortages after WWII, school meals were reduced in several regions of the country.

Yumi:
The first school lunch in Japan was started by a Buddhist monk who oversaw a school in Tsuruoka City, Yamagata Prefecture. The idea of ​​serving lunch at school is due to the underprivileged children. These first lunches consisted of onigiri, grilled fish, and tsukemono.

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TOKYO

In the 22nd year of the Meiji era (aka 1889), the very first Japanese "kyushoku" (school lunch) was served up at an elementary school in Tsuruoka City, Yamagata Prefecture. Although the first menu was very simply prepared, it provided the growing children with an important source of nourishment that not all of them could receive at home. (L)

Fast-forward to 2015 – Japanese schoolchildren (and their teachers) continue to eat school lunches every day, as opposed to children in many other countries who bring their lunches from home. If you’re working in a Japanese school, you should already be familiar with the daily feeling of either excitement or disappointment when you see the lunch menu for the day. But just consider this – would you rather eat the types of lunches served today, or those that were served 100 years ago? (S)

Love ’em or hate ’em, school lunches at Japanese schools are here to stay. Everyone, including the teachers and even the principal, sit down to eat the same lunch every day. Children are encouraged to be thankful for the food and finish every last bite, including any foods that they’re not particularly fond of. (L)

The Gakko Kyushoku website has provided a concise history of the lunches, including pictures of sample meals from different time periods. The following pieces of information and images were taken from their website. (S)

The first school lunch in Japan was started by a Buddhist monk who oversaw a school in Tsuruoka City, Yamagata Prefecture. The idea to provide lunch at school came about when he noticed that many of the disadvantaged children weren’t coming to school with packed lunches from home. These first simple lunches consisted of "onigiri" (rice balls), grilled fish, and pickled vegetables called "tsukemono," as seen in the photo. (Yumi)

Word spread about the success of the monk’s school lunch program. Before long, schools around the country had embraced the idea and were beginning to offer lunches to their students as well. Rice mixed with meat and/or vegetables, fish, and varieties of miso soup became typical food items found on the menus. (M)

During these early years, schools usually served the food in porcelain bowls and other dishware, making it feel more like a home-cooked meal than a school-provided lunch. (M)

After the outbreak of WWII, school lunches were either cut or reduced in many parts of the country due to local wartime food shortages. (M)

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In the 22nd year of the Meiji era (aka 1889), the very first Japanese "kyushoku" (school lunch) was served up at an elementary school in Tsuruoka City, Yamagata Prefecture. Although the first menu was very simply prepared, it provided the growing children with an important source of nourishment that not all of them could receive at home.

Fast-forward to 2015 - Japanese schoolchildren (and their teachers) continue to eat school lunches every day, as opposed to children in many other countries who bring their lunches from home. If you're working in a Japanese school, you should already be familiar with the daily feeling of either excitement or disappointment when you see the lunch menu for the day. But just consider this - would you rather eat the types of lunches served today, or those that were served 100 years ago?

Love 'em or hate 'em, school lunches at Japanese schools are here to stay. Everyone, including the teachers and even the principal, sit down to eat the same lunch every day. Children are encouraged to be thankful for the food and finish every last bite, including any foods that they're not particularly fond of.

The Gakko Kyushoku website has provided a concise history of the lunches, including pictures of sample meals from different time periods. The following pieces of information and images were taken from their website.

The first school lunch in Japan was started by a Buddhist monk who oversaw a school in Tsuruoka City, Yamagata Prefecture. The idea to provide lunch at school came about when he noticed that many of the disadvantaged children weren't coming to school with packed lunches from home. These first simple lunches consisted of "onigiri" (rice balls), grilled fish, and pickled vegetables called "tsukemono," as seen in the photo.

Word spread about the success of the monk's school lunch program. Before long, schools around the country had embraced the idea and were beginning to offer lunches to their students as well. Rice mixed with meat and/or vegetables, fish, and varieties of miso soup became typical food items found on the menus.

During these early years, schools usually served the food in porcelain bowls and other dishware, making it feel more like a home-cooked meal than a school-provided lunch.

After the outbreak of WWII, school lunches were either cut or reduced in many parts of the country due to local wartime food shortages.

In 1944, approximately two million elementary school-aged children received school lunch in six major cities throughout Japan. Although the war ended in 1945, food shortages continued, and many children were left malnourished. It is estimated that elementary school sixth grade students at the time had bodies equivalent to those of fourth grade students of today due to stunted growth.

In 1946, the vice-minister of three governmental ministries released a decree to encourage the widespread implementation of school lunches throughout the country. Consequently, a school lunch system was implemented on Dec 24 of that year at all schools in Tokyo, Kanagawa, and Chiba prefectures. Today, some schools in those regions offer a special menu during the week of Jan 24-30 in commemoration (since holidays typically interfere with the final week of December and no school lunch is served then anyway).

In 1947, approximately three million children around the country began receiving school lunch, including powdered non-fat milk donated from America. Two years later, UNICEF also donated free shipments of the powdered milk.

In 1950, elementary school-aged children in eight major Japanese cities received complete school lunches with the addition of bread made using wheat flour from America. A bread roll coupled with potato stew, croquette, sliced cabbage, and milk is an example of what a typical lunch served during this year would look like.

The year 1951 saw a movement unfold throughout the country for school lunches to be partially funded by government subsidies. By the following year, the government funded half the cost of the wheat flour used in school lunch bread. Starting in April, elementary school-aged children in all schools throughout the country received complete school lunches. Lunches over the following years tended to include a number of fried menu items.

In 1954, the School Lunch Act was implemented. School lunch was recognized as a legitimate part of children's education as a way to teach knowledge about how food is produced and important dining customs. It also encouraged healthy social interaction between classmates and within the school, a tenet which is still promoted to this day.

In 1958, the administrative director of the Ministry of Education, Culture, Sports, Science and Technology (MEXT) promoted an outline for the inclusion of milk in school lunches. Fresh cow's milk gradually replaced powdered milk over the next several years.

In addition, although bread rolls had been the norm for a long time, fried bread and other forms of cooked bread were being introduced into school lunches by the end of the 1950s. Soft noodles also began to appear in some school lunches in the central Kanto region of Japan.

In 1971, the contents of school lunches were more or less standardized by governmental decree.

Meals with warm, freshly cooked rice began to be served in 1976. There was also an increase in the variety of foods served compared to the selection from just two decades before. Previously bottled milk was finally replaced by milk cartons.

1993 and 1994 were bad years for rice crops, so school districts were singularly allowed to supplement their school lunches with rice not subject to governmental controls. By 2000, this type of rice became allowed for general usage.

Japanese school lunches sure have come a long way over the past century. Menus are now more varied and nutritionally balanced to ensure the development of healthy school-aged children.

It's worth noting that school lunches have also come under fire for issues regarding cleanliness and proper food preparation. In particular, a tragic incident in 1996 in Okayama Prefecture led to the deaths of two children caused by improper food preparation; an additional 468 showed symptoms of food poisoning. A subsequent investigation revealed the presence of E. coli bacteria in their school lunches.

I myself had the privilege to work for two years at a junior high school in Yamagata Prefecture, the original birthplace of Japanese school lunches. While the quality of the meals wasn't always the greatest, I look back at them fondly for their convenience, low cost (less than 300 yen per meal), and the opportunity to try a variety of foods that I wouldn't normally have packed for myself. Plus, nothing beats a bowl of ready-to-eat, steaming rice in the middle of winter!

My school and other schools in the city operated on a rotating menu schedule, which always included a soup, some type of carb, a vegetable side dish, and milk. Bread was usually served on Mondays, noodles on Wednesdays (during cold months only), and rice on the rest of the days. I always looked forward to special holiday meals, which often included an extra special treat or a culturally relevant food.
Sources: Gakko Kyushoku, Unilab Tsuruoka
Read more stories from RocketNews24. -- Our Japanese reporter's encounter with American school lunch -- "Let them eat furikake!" says Mayor Hashimoto as Osaka school lunch saga rumbles on -- Concern As Contractor Refuses To Provide School Lunches When Faced With Radiation Checks

© Japan Today

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A brief history of the evolution of Japanese school lunches

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In the 22nd year of the Meiji era (aka 1889), the very first Japanese "kyushoku" (school lunch) was served up at an elementary school in Tsuruoka City, Yamagata Prefecture. Although the first menu was very simply prepared, it provided the growing children with an important source of nourishment that not...

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Who is summarizing? Speaking- verbally summarizing: Leo

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Who is summarizing? Speaking- verbally summarizing: Leo

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Leo para 1:  The very first "Kyushoku"(school lunch) was served in the year 1889 Meiji era at Tsuruoka City, Yamagata Prefecture. Even though the lunch was simple, the children were able to get enough nutrition that they can't get at home for some people.

Shen para 2:  Japanese schoolchildren continue to eat school lunches every day, while kids in other countries who bring their lunches from home. If you’re working in japan, you should be familiar with the feeling of either excitement or disappointment when you see the lunch menu. But think about this – would you rather eat the types of lunches served today, or those that were served 100 years ago?

Leo para 3: Whether you like or hate the school lunches, Japanese schools have to appreciate the food that they get and have to finish every single piece of food left on the plate. Even the foods you dislike and this rule goes the same to all the teachers and principal.