An investigation of a typical elementary school lunch program

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AN INVESTIGATION OF A TYPICAL ELEMENTARY SCHOOL LUNCH PROGRAM

A Project Presented to the Faculty of the School of Education The University of Southern California

In Partial Fulfillment of the Requirements for the Degree Master of Science in Education

by Arthur L. Tucker July 1950

UMI Number: EP46629

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P ry '

T h is project report, ‘written under the direction o f the candidate’s adviser and ap p ro ved by h im , has been presented to and accepted by the F a c u lty o f the School of E d u catio n in p a r t ia l fu lf illm e n t of the requirements f o r the degree

of M a s t e r of

Science in E ducation.

3.j /yj-a

A d v is e r

Dean

ACKNOWLEDGEMENTS The writer is deeply indebted to Miss Catherine Roethe, School Lunch Supervisor of the Arcadia City School District, who offered valuable suggestions and made considerable information available with respect to menus, cost records, and administrative procedures. Grateful acknowledgement is also due to Dr. Robert Cralle whose timely advice and suggestions contributed much to the writing of the project.

TABLE OF CONTENTS CHAPTER I.

PAGE

Introduction . . . . . . . . .

............

I

Description of the situation

............

2

Statement of the problem...............

II.

1

THE NATURE OF THE PROBLEM....................

.

2

Review of the literature.................

3

The scope and delimitation of the problem. .

5

Definition of terms used . . . . . . . . . .

6

The importance of the problem.............

7

The organization of chapters of the report .

7

Summary...................................

.8

PROCEDURES USED IN THE SOLUTION OF THE PROBLEM....................................

9

The emergence of the problem..............

9

The development of a bibliography..........

10

The determination of a selected biblio­ graphical list by random sampling........

10

How reliability and validity were conceived...............

11

Summary................................. .. . 11 III.

NUTRITION AS RELATED TO H E A L T H ..............

13

Nutritional standards of a school lunch program.

.....................

Nutrition and physical health..............

14 17

CHAPTER

III

PAGE Nutrition and mental health............. .

18

S u m m a r y .........................

20

ADMINISTRATION OF THE SCHOOL LUNCH PROGRAM...

22

Administrative standards for a school lunch program...............

22

Centralization of responsibility ........

24

Supervision. . .

26

......................

Food purchasing.........

28

Preparation.

32

......................

Banking and accounting................. Publicity.............................

V.

VI.

34 .

37

Storage and distribution ................

39

Summary. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .

41

PERSONNEL IN THE SCHOOL LUNCH PROGRAM . . . .

42

The cafeteria supervisor

..........

43

The cafeteria manager.

..........

46

Cafeteria workers........................

48

The school n u r s e ........................

49

Summary.................

51

ASPECTS OF FOOD SERVICE TO STUDENTS........

52

Determining daily participation..........

52

Pupil supervision during the lunch p e r i o d ................................ Summary

. . . . . .

........

. . . . . .

55 56

vi CHAPTER

PAGE

VII. FINANCING THE SCHOOL LUNCH PROGRAM........... 57 Distribution of funds ...................... Determinants of expenditures..............

57

59

Service charge to students. .................. 61 Federal aid to school lunch programs.. . . .

62

District aid to the school lunchprogram.

64

. .

66

S ummary............. VIII.

THE LUNCHROOM AND EQUIPMENT................. 67 The lunchroom proper.

................67

Lunchroom equipment ........................

72

Summary . . . .

74

................

. . . . . .

IX. CONCLUSIONS ‘................

X.

76

A.

General conclusions ....................

76

B.

Conclusions with respect to Arcadia.. . .

79

RECOMMENDATIONS.............................81

BIBLIOGRAPHY. . . . . . .

.............................

84

CHAPTER I THE NATURE OF THE PROBLEM Introduction.

The importance of the school lunch

program as a recent facet of our educational structure represents a distinct milestone in school organization. Several factors have nurtured the rapid growth of such a program during the last twenty years.

Among those which we

might enumerate are Parent-Teacher organizations, the development of school transportation systems, consolidation of school districts, governmental support through such agencies as the Public Works Administration and the War Food Administration, child nurseries, mothers working in war industries and parental education which has community demand.

led to

Finally, the growth and insight into the

physical well-being of the child from a scientific standpoint, is a relatively recent phenomina.

The contribution of a

healthy body to good learning became important as new discoveries were made with respect to nutrition, balanced diets, calories, vitamins, etc.

It is well established that

a school lunch which provides one-third to one-half of the daily nutritive requirements, has a far reaching effect on learning readiness.

Since there is a close correlation

between physical health and intellectual growth the problem

of satisfying dietary requirements becomes an imperative one* To discover adequacies and deficiencies of the school lunch program in the Arcadia City School District constitutes the basis for this study. Description of the situation.

The Arcadia Community

has a population of approximately 23>000 and a school enrollment of about 2,700 pupils for the term 1948-49. Located twelve miles from the Los Angeles City center, it is characterized as essentially a business and residential community. the average.

Economic status of its citizenry is probably above There are few nationals or transients. i

As a basis for this project, four elementary schools are considered and were in operation during 1948-49.

A fifth

school which began operation during the term just passed is not a part of this study.

Preliminary investigation shows

that around $6% of the total school enrollment participated in the lunch program.

This is a relatively high ratio of

participation when compared to a national norm of about 20%. Since the participation status of the pupils in this particular district is decidedly above average and since school lunch programs are in part supported by public funds it poses a question as to the general effectiveness, cost and adequacy of such a program. Statement of the problem.

The immediate problem is

to study and analyze a representative elementary school lunch

program as sponsored in the Arcadia City School District, to determine its adequacies and deficiencies, and to state practices in the form of conclusions that might result in improvement* Review of the literature.

A review of a random

sampling of the literature used in developing the scope and importance of the problem is unanimous in the belief that the sdhool lunch is important to pupil welfare, and that it rightfully belongs in our educational program. The following excerpts from the literature in the field will provide a pattern of thinking on the part of others who have explored the position of the school lunch in the educational program. Joseph M. Murtha writes in The Fation’s Schools as follows: From a small beginning, the National School Lunch Program has expanded rapidly until today nearly 45,000 schools, with 6,000,000 children are participating..... A properly administered school lunch program is more than ever needed today. It can assist In providing adequate domestic markets for our farm production while helping to build a strong, a healthy America of tomorrow.1 One of the most comprehensive statements with respect to the importance of the problem is made by Mary DeGarmo Bryan. ^"Joseph M. Murtha, "Federal Lunch Program", The Nation’s Schools. (June, 1949) p. *8.

4 As a eource of nourishing noon meals it helps to combat malnutrition and to maintain in the children health and vigor essential to the success of the teach­ ing program; it is a center for the teaching of proper food selection and of good health habits, for the vocational training of some students, and for the social training of all; it presents an opportunity for correlating classroom teaching with the interests and experiences of children which center around food; and it furnishes a means of interesting the community in the food service of the school and of giving some training in the nutritional needs of children through this interest. School health activities are based upon the realization that physically handicapped children are unable to profit to the fullest extent by the educational opportunities of the s c h o o l .2 The above statement is significant with respect to - the importance of school lunches and consequent relation to health and learning. Bryan emphasizes the importance of school lunches as a basis for classroom teaching when she states, The cafeteria is a real classroom for the teaching of nutrition through the services of properly selected, adequate and attractive lunches during the twelve years of school life.3 The importance of the school lunch to the welfare of the child is further emphasized in the statement of Edna Carew Jennings. The nutrition of school children is assuming a more prominent place in the general sociological scheme.4 2 Mary DeGarmo Bryan, The School Cafeteria. (New York: F. S. Crofts and Company, 1946),p. 15. 3 Ibid., p. 18. 4 Edna Carew Jennings, A Study of the Nutrition Work in the Elementary Schools of the Los Angeles District, (Easter's Thesis, 1931)? P« 9.

Ford in his hook treating of the administrative problems of the school cafeteria further stresses the importance and scope of the problem by stating that,

^

The increase in the size of the school enrollment with its consequent increase in the number of pupils who came from a distance made it necessary to choose between a longer noon intermission, a long continuous session, and providing lunch for the students. The value of this service as a health measure and as an opportunity for health education is ah important factor in its extension.5 The scone and delimitation of the problem.

Although

the advantages of an efficient school lunch program are numerous it should be realized that in no two school systems does the cafeteria service to children function alike.

Certain

aspects of every program are different from another depending on many characteristic community factors.

The scope of this

study is specifically concerned with determining what the standards are for a good elementary school lunch program, setting up certain criteria and subsequently examining some of the features of the program as administered in Arcadia. The following aspects will be treated. 1.

What is the importance of nutrition as related to health?

2.

Is the local school lunch program properly administered?

> William Stanley Ford. Some Administrative Problems of the High School Cafeteria. (New fork: Teachers College, Columbia University, 1926) p. 1.

3.

Is the cafeteria supervisor and other personnel adequately trained and efficient?

4.

Are the aspects of food service to pupils adequate

5.

How is the school lunch program financed?

6.

Do lunch rooms and equipment meet accepted standards?

7.

What conclusions do we arrive at as a result of the study?

Each of the questions here-to-fore stated will he studied in following chapters. DEFINITION OF TERMS USED The term school lunch is used as rather synonimous with school cafeteria.

It applies to all facets of serving

a balanced and appetizing lunch to pupils in the elementary grades.

It is implied that as such the term is restricted to

a balanced plate lunch and does not include so called "novelties" served as individual items to school children. By referring to adequacies we have reference to standardization of practice with respect to characteristics of the school lunch program.

Winston’s Simplified

Dictionary defines adequacy as "the condition of being suitable or sufficient to what is required. r|6

6 Thomas Hite Brown and William Dodge Lewis, the Winston Simplified Dictionary for Schools. (The John C. Winston Company, 193&)> P. 10.

7 With respect to deficiencies we mean that some aspects of the program are not mp to standard.

The Winston Simplified

Dictionary for Schools defines it as r,the lack or want of something; a defect; a shortage”.? THE IMPORTANCE OF THE PROBLEM Reliable figures show that more than eight million American pupils participate in the school lunch program.

It

absorbs the energy and attention of administrators, super­ visors, teachers and parents.

Millions of dollars are spent

annually to support the lunch program.

Much of this is tax

money either local or federal, the balance being direct payments by pupils for lunch service.

Since so many of our

school districts support such a program involving as it does, the well-being of children, the expenditure of public funds, the employment of sizeable staffs and the demand for direction by school personnel and parents, the program becomes a significant one.

The problem then, posed here, is whether the

Arcadia City School District program is efficient, adequate, and summarily sound when analyzed in the light of general standards. The organization of chanters of the report.

The

succeeding chapters of this study offer a synthesis of in­ formation pertinent to the various aspects of a well organized ? Ibid.. p. 213.

8 and soundly administered school lunch program.

Chapter II

is a statement of the procedures used in the solution of the problem.

Chapter III treats of the

importance of nutrition

as related to the health of children, mental and physical. Chapter IV will discuss the importance of administration of the program and how it is administered in Arcadia,

Chapter V

will treat of the lunch supervisor and her service personnel. Chapter VT will include the aspects of food service to pupils. Chapter VII will analyze the method of financing the program locally.

In Chapter VIII is included an analysis of lunch­

rooms and equipment.

Chapter IX will summarize conclusions

and Chapter X will be devoted to recommendations. Summary.

It has been the purpose of this chapter

to state the problem, to describe the situation, to quote authorities on the scope and importance of the school lunch program, to define terms used in the problem and to provide a composite picture of school lunch values as a setting for a critical examination of our local program. In the chapter which follows the writer will discuss such aspects as the emergence of the problem, the develop­ ment of a bibliography, selection of a biographical list and how reliability and validity were conceived.

CHAPTER II PROCEDURES USED IN THE SOLUTION OF THE

PROBLEM

In Chapter I the writer outlined the situation which led to the study of the problem and reviewed the literature school lunch programs.

Such literature consisted of books,

periodicals and unpublished reports.

The chapter also

contained a statement of the problem and reviewed the importance of the school lunch program.

In this chapter we

will discuss the procedures used in the solution of the problem.

Such phases as the emergence of the problem,

criteria used in the development of a bibliography and selection on the basis of random sampling are also discussed Means of arriving at validity and reliability are discussed as is the importance of the school lunch program to the health of growing children. The emergence of the problem.

For some time the

writer has been vitally concerned with respect to the importance of school lunch programs and how they affect children.

Subsequent to perusal of selected references,

certain facets of the lunch program were chosen as a basis for study because of repeated occurrence in the literature and secondly because such factors emerged as of more than average importance in the organization of a local lunch program.

Pertinent aspects to be studied are (1) nutrition as related to health and learning (2) administration (3) the supervisor and other personnel (4) service to pupils (5) financing, and (6) lunchrooms and equipment. The development of a bibliography.

In the develop­

ment of a bibliography the writer sought recourse to the University library, the local public library and to a periodical library in the local administration office.

To

determine the value of references chosen, the following criteria were used. 1.

The training and experience of the author as established by degrees received, prominence, and extent of writings.

2.

The acceptance of the author as an authority by others who made similar studies and freely quoted him.

3.

The recency of the reference since most of the progress made in this field is of late origin.

Few of the references cited were published earlier than 1930, the majority having been published since 1940. Generous reference has been made to periodical references because of the relatively recent emergence and growth of the school lunch program. The determination of a selected bibliographical list by random sampling.

On the basis of the criteria cited

above, the writer developed a select list of references; books, periodicals, and unpublished materials in alphabetical

- 11 sequence according to authors.

From this list the writer

chose by random sampling every fourth reference for the purpose of establishing credence and authenticity. How reliability and validity were conceived.

In a

preceding paragraph of this chapter the writer enumerated criteria upon which the selection of a bibliography was based.

Reliability was established by selecting books of

authors who met this criteria of competence.

A second check

was made by taking another sampling of the bibliography to determine if a central tendency still prevailed and author agreement was essentially the same.

Validity was estab­

lished by determining whether conclusions were in terms of the opinions of the weight of the authors.

This unanimity of

opinion on the part of the authors selected is indicative that devices used measure what they purport to measure and that there is consistant relationship between original intent, the specific problem, the conclusions, and the findings and final recommendations. Summary.

In this chapter the writer has described

the emergence of the problem, the development of a bibliography, the determination of selected references by random sampling, and how reliability and validity were established.

Succeeding chapters will deal with a treatment

of the school lunch program as operated in the local school district and consequent evaluation with respect to practice

12 which has been relatively standardized.

Insofar as standards

have been established, they will appear at the beginning of each chapter on findings for purposes of evaluating the local program.

The next chapter will treat of the

importance of good nutrition to physical and mental health.

CHAPTER III NUTRITION AS RELATED TO HEALTH In Chapter II the writer discussed the procedures used in the solution of the problem.

Such factors as

emergence of the problem, the development of a bibliography, the determination of a selected bibliographical list, and the conception of reliability and validity were treated.

It will

be the purpose of this chapter to determine the relationship of nutrition to mental and physical health. The science of nutrition has come into its own largely within the last twenty years.

Prior to that time little was

known about the value of balanced diets as related to the physical and mental health of school children.

Today

thousands of dieticians and nutritionalists are trained annually for service in schools, hospitals, public institutions and the home.

The phenominal growth of research

in food problems pertinent to health and learning readiness has been instrumental in substantially modifying the food habits of school children and parents.

Wherever food service

is rendered, trained experts are usually found to be an integral part of such service. of the school lunch program.

This is most especially true The succeeding paragraphs of

this chapter will (1) set standards for a balanced diet, (2) treat of the relationship of nutrition to physical health,

14 and (3) establish the importance of nutritional habits as related to mental health. Nutritional standards of a school lunch program.

It

has been previously related in this study that tremendous advances have been made with respeet to the dietary and nutritional needs of growing children.

Their learning,

behavior, attitudes, interests and emotional traits are conditioned to a high degree by a diet that contains the proper amounts of one type of food as related to another. The science of calories and vitamin requirements is an integral part of the pattern.

Drawing upon the broad background of

scientific research and study, food experts have arrived at standardization of the food requirements of school children. Standards as outlined by Hemphill^- are as follows: Type A Lunch The Type A lunch is a complete meal, hot or cold which provides one-third to one-half of one day's nutritive require­ ments and must contain the following: (a)

One-half pint whole milk (which meets the minimum butterfat and sanitation requirements of state and local laws) as a beverage.

(b)

Two ounces of fresh or processed meat, poultry meat, cooked or canned fish, or cheese, or onehalf cup cooked dry peas, beans, or soybeans, or four tablespoons of peanut butter or one egg.

^ James M. Hemphill, Financial Advantages Under the School Lunch Program. (California Schools Bulletin, March 1949) p. 3*

(c)

Six ounces of raw, cooked or canned vegetables and/or fruit.

(d)

One portion of bread, muffins, or other hot breads made of whole grain cereal or enriched flour.

(e)

Two teaspoons of butter or fortified margarine.

Type B Lunch Requirements for the Type B lunch follows the same general pattern but provides for smaller amounts of proteins, vegetables and/or fruits, and butter or margarine. Type C Lunch The Type C lunch constitutes one-half pint of milk daily. The standards for school lunches as enumerated above follow almost verbatum the standards as set up by the Federal School Lunch Act which has become a pattern for the planning of the dietary and nutritional needs of children.

It should

also be noted that in the subsidy of state school lunch programs by the Federal Government, larger allocations are made to districts serving the Type A lunch providing more generous portions per serving.

The variability in subsidy

has generally caused school districts to serve Type A lunch. The Los Angeles City Schools which have one of the largest and most efficient serving programs in the Nation adhere to the Type A lunch.

ELEMENTARY SCHOOL MENU Milk

Entree

(LOS ANGELES CITY SCHOOLS) .DECEMBER, 194?

Choice to Student

Dessert

Bread and Margarine

£ pint

Chili beans or lima beans deluxe

Buttered carrots and celery or shredded lettuce and crushed pineapple

Lemon snow with custard sauce

One-half French roll with margarine

£ pint

Roast beef hash

Orange juice or seven minute cabbage

Fruit cobbler

Bread and margarine

£ pint

Tuna and noodles with cheese crumbs or hot dog sandwiches

Stewed tomatoes or baked banana squash

Fruit cup

Bread and margarine served with noodle entree

£ pint

Chop suey with rice

Split pea soup or Waldorf salad with chopped peanuts

Chocolate pudding

Bread and Margarine

£ pint

Pot roast and noodles

Carrot and raisin salad or stewed celery and peas

Fruit jello

Bread and margarine

£ pint

Baked potato with cheese sauce and chopped parsley

Buttered string beans or egg and tomato sandwiches

Fruit cup

Bread and margarine

£ pint

Chili beans or baked beans

Green salad with chopped scrambled dried egg

Plum Duff

One-half French roll and margarine

£ pint

Your favorite entree

Buttered spinach or moulded Christmas salad (fruit and chopped celery in red jello)

Ice cream bar Bread and margarine or your favorite dessert, not sherbert

ARCADIA CITY SCHOOLS *** CAFETERIA MENUS 1949 Monday. May ^0 - Holiday Tuesdayf May ^1 - Student Lunch Twenty five cents Steamed Weiner Baked Potato Cabbage Salad Bread and Butter Milk Vanilla-Chocolate Pudding Wednesday. June 1 - Student Lunch Twenty five eents Beef and Noodle Casserole Buttered Peas Carrot Strips Bread and Butter Milk Stewed Prunes and Cookie Thursday. June 2 - Student Lunch Twenty JTive cents Baked Meat Loaf Scalloped Potatoes Carrot and Raisin Salad Bread and Butter Milk Fruit Jello Friday. June *3 - Student Lunch Twenty five eents Macaroni and Cheese Buttered Carrots Sliced Tomato Bread and Butter Milk Spice Cake

16 p

One of their menus is herewith inserted together with one from the Arcadia City School District.

Similarity in

content of servings will be noted. The importance of a standardized, satisfying school lunch is emphasized by Bryan.3 The rapid development of school cafeterias during the past twenty years indicates the general acceptance of the importance of a good noon meal to the health of children during the school years. Bryan sets up the following standards as prerequisites. The school lunch menu should always be planned in consideration of (1 ) the child's food needs for an entire day; (2) the extent to which these needs are apt to be met in the meals served at home, so that the lunch may supplement them; (3) the portion of the lunch brought from home and food needed to supplement this; (4) the food habits of the community; (5) the training in food selection as offered by the variety and attractiveness of the food; (6) the extent to which this is supple­ mented by supervision of trays, classroom instruction, or other methods of insuring that the lunch is adequate; (7) the amount of money which the majority of the children in a given school can spend for lunch; (8) the equip­ ment which is available for the cooking and serving of the food. Similar standards are set up by Roberts,4 Rose,? and Gilette.6 ^ Martha Yvonne McFeely, A Survey of Public School Cafeteria Finance. (Master’s Project, University of Southern California, 1949) p. 13 • 3 Mary DeGarmo Bryan, The School Cafeteria. (New York: F. S. Crofts and Company. 1946) pp. 193-4” — 4 Lydia J. Roberts, Nutrition Work with Children (Chicago: University of Chicago Press, 1935) pp. 496-505? Mary Swartz Rose, Laboratory Handbook for Dietetics. (New York: Macmillan Company, 3rd Edition, 1929) p. 19. ° Lucy Gillette, Food Allowances for Healthy Children. (New York: Assn. for Improving the Condition of the Poor, 1917)

17 Nutrition and physical health.

A number of studies

have been made that cover this very important phase of the lunch program.

One of these studies lists several factors

that are indicative of under-nourishment.

Edna Carew Jennings?

enumerates five criteria that serve to determine malnutrition, fhey are (1) general attitude, (2) expression, (3) color, (4) skin and hair, and (5) posture. By combining the above characteristics with other data such as weight and heighth, it has become possible for school nurses, teachers, principals and social workers to identify the malnourished child.

Other means of determining

inadequate diet are home visitation and parent conference or observation of the quality of lunches children bring to school. The first thought in planning any menu for a growing child should be with respect to bodily needs and physical growth.

Lowenberg amplifies this statement when she says,

The first essential in planning meals for a child is to include a generous supply of those foods that furnish the elements necessary for maintaining a healthy, rapidly growing body.*5 One of the most comprehensive and recent studies of

7 Edna Carew Jennings, A Study of the Nutrition Work in the Elementary Schools of the Los Angeles School PistricTI (Master’s Thesis University of Southern California, 19315P* 21. 8 Miriam E. Lowenberg, Your Child’s Food. (New York: McGraw-Hill Book Company, 1934) p. 59.

18

the school lunch program has been made by Bryan.

She Is

emphatic in her emphasis as to the correlation between proper food and good health. School health activities are based upon the realization that physically handicapped children are unable to profit to the fullest extent by the educa­ tional opportunities of the sehoolrbhe increasing knowledge of nutrition continues to emphasize the necessity of proper feeding for good child health.9 In twenty years of school work the experience of the writer has been essentially the same.

There is substantial

evidence to show that proper food is essential to satisfy the needs of growing children.

We shall now treat of the

importance of proper diet to mental health. Hutrition and mental health.

Adequate nutritive

requirements for school children have a direct and positive effect upon the mental health of the child.

In speaking of

mental health we refer to such aspects as attitudes, mental alertness, intensity of interests and emotional behavior. The well nourished child responds quickly to suggestion.

He is mentally alert and non-combative.

accepts group conduct patterns of behavior. accepted.

He

He is socially

His attitude toward the group and toward teachers

is of a positive rather than negative nature.* The well nourished child has emotional reactions that indicate maturity when compared with chronological age.

There is a

noticeable absence of fear and a feeling of security provided 3 Ibid.7 pp. 15-16

his socio-physical background is normal. From a mental standpoint it should also be stressed that considerable release of emotional tensions is experienced by children through their participation in classroom activities directly related to lunch room experiences.

These activities, often manual, take the form

of making food charts, conducting science studies as related to food requirements and weighing and measuring heighths of classmates.

Many participate in such activities as washing

dishes, serving food, cleaning lunch tables, acting as monitors in collection of lunch payments and supervision of child safety in service lines.

Plays, exhibits, movies,

lectures and assemblies, all dealing with health are proper factors in emotional stability. Much of the present interest in the mental health benefits of school lunch service stems from the desire to offer every child the opportunity stated in Article VIII of the Children's Bill of Bights as "the right of every child to attend a school ... where his physical, mental, and emotional t

needs are not only met but coordinated ..."

A brief quotation

from Jennings will serve to illustrate emotional instabilities, resulting from faulty or mainourishment, There was one tall, skinny boy who was such a problem that the teacher could not manage him ... One day after two or three such episodes he came back again looking very sullen. Mrs. Drake was disgusted

20

and asked, "What is the matter?" "Aw hell, I'm hungry."10

The hoy blurted out,

Lowenberg, one time Assistant Professor of Poods, Nutrition and Child Development, Iowa State College, prefaces her book with a statement which substantiates the relation of proper food to mental health. It is a far cry from the days when the attitude toward children was that "children are to be seen and not heard" to the present time, with its conception of the child as a member of the family whose needs, mental, physical, social and emotional should be taken into consideration .... For the children there must be included each day in the dietary foods that are growth promoting, full of energy for their ceaseless activity, full of minerals to build sturdy, straight bones and good teeth, also vitamins that make their bodies more resistant to infection. All are necessary to produce a child with sparkling eyes, glossy, shining hair and a happy disposition.11 Emotional effect of adequate and proper feeding has further been established by the attention given to food aspects during World War II where much research indicated the necessity for careful food planning in the armed services and factories.

Hospitals, doctors, social institutions and

industry generally deem proper feeding of personnel a prime requisite to proper morale. Summary.

In the preceding paragraphs we have

10 Edna Carew Jennings, A Study of the Nutrition Work ln the Elementary Schools of the*~Los Angeles School District. TSasier's Thesis University of Southern California, 1931) p. 13* Miriam E. Lowenberg, Your Child's Health. (New York: McGraw-Hill Book Company, 1939) P. xvll.

/

21

enumerated food standards as established by prevailing authorities in the field of school lunches and pointed out the importance of proper food as related to the physical and mental needs of growing children.

All authorities quoted

were in full agreement with respect to nutritional standards and consequent effect upon mental and physical health.

In

Chapter IY we will discuss administrative problems of the school lunch program, especially with respect to centralization of responsibility, supervision, purchasing, banking and accounting, publicity, and storage and distribution.

CHAPTER IV ADMINISTRATION OF THE SCHOOL LUNCH PROGRAM In the Immediately preceding chapter the importance of the school lunch program was discussed.

Standards for a

well balanced lunch program were established by quoting authorities in the field whose opinions were consistent in support of such service to pupils.

It was further related

that proper food for growing children has a direct and positive effect upon their physical and mental health.

In

this chapter it will be the purpose of the writer to treat of the administration of the lunch program with respect to (1) administrative standards, (2) centralization of responsi­ bility, (3) supervision, (4) purchasing, (?) food preparation, (6) banking and accounting, (7) publicity and, (8) distribution and storage. Administrative standards for a school lunch program. The school lunch program is an accepted and integral part of the educational structure of most school districts in the County today.

Parents believe in the contribution it makes to

the health aspect of growing children.

They support it

through taxes and by direct contribution. vital and positive as to its values.

Their interests are

Statutes in virtually

every state provide for administrative and financial support. Local school district budgets generally allocate funds for

23 lunch rooms, equipment and salaries of personnel.

The school

lunch program is a M g business in American schools.

As a

result of this broad acceptance, certain administrative standards have evolved.

Such standards have emerged by

virtue of Federal and State statutes and more especially from local board policy.

A review of the literature seems to

indicate that the following standards have a direct bearing upon the administrative effectiveness of a school lunch program. 1.

Responsibility should be centered in the school board who turns over administrative duties to a cafeteria supervisor working directly under the superintendent and business manager if there be one.

2.

The responsibilities of administrative officers should be specific and policies should be well defined.

3.

Opportunity should be provided for the expression of community interest through the medium of parents, health services and the Parent-Teacher Association.

4.

All personnel should be trained, experienced, healthy and personally cheerful. This implies criterian for employment of such personnel.

5.

Accounting ledgers should be kept and audited periodically. Banking should be frequent, perhaps daily. Employees handling funds should be bonded.

6.

Food consumption and distribution records should be kept as determinents of pupil cost.

7.

The majority of food purchasing and equipment should be open to bids. Purchase of foods should be seasonal from the standpoint of economy as related to supply

24 8.

There should he periodic inventories of equipment and food supplies for maximum economy. Objective evaluation of equipment and lunch rooms should be made periodically by means of a score card.

References in succeeding sections of this chapter will serve to substantiate the validity and general acceptance of the above standards. Centralization of responsibility.

School lunch

programs have come into their own as a necessary adjunct to education.

No longer are they looked upon as a trivial

appendage.

Because of this broad acceptance, the program has

become a big business.

Administrative responsibilities must

be fixed. Bethard supports the contention that responsibility should be centralized and fixed when she states, In 1932 the board of education assumed responsibility for the operation of the cafeteria as a unified program. Under state laws passed in 1929, the board of education provides the buildings, equipment, and the general supervision, paying for these from the funds of the school district. All cafeteria workers are regular employees of the school district and are governed by the same personnel policies as are the other members of the school staff. 2Bryan also emphasizes central responsibility with respect to school lunch programs.

She writes,

School board, administrators, faculty, and architect must have a clear cut picture from which to set up a food service policy.2 1 Edith T. Bethard, Personnel Policies in San Diego’s Cafeteria. (The Nation’s Schools 39* May, 1940), p. 64. 2 Mary DeGarmo Bryan, So You’re Planning a Cafeteria. (School Executive, 64: October, 1944), p. 55.

25 The importance of "line of authority" or fixation of responsibility is particularly well stated by Knoll, especially with reference to the cafeteria staff.

He elaborates on the

practice at Long Beach, California. Within the cafeteria organization the line of authority is from the cafeteria director through the dietician to the kitchen manager at each kitchen. Besides the kitchen manager, the staff consists of a head range woman, a head pastry woman, a head sandwich woman, a head salad woman, a head vegetable woman, a clerk, fifteen cafeteria helpers and a cafeteria caretaker.3 MacMillan outlines a type of authority which is quite prevalent.

It follows:

The Administrative Control.4’ Board of Education Superintendent of Schools Assistant Superintendent — Business Manager Director of Cafeterias Secretary Local Manager Principal Cafeteria Employees She also defines the responsibilities of each which will not be attempted in this study. The citations listed should serve to emphasize the importance of centralizing responsibilities so that each member from the district board on down is fully aware of

3 A. A. Knoll, Central Kitchen Operation Pays. (The Nation’s Schools, 41: March, 1946), p. 4 Margueritte Verion MacMillan, The Organization of an Elementary School Cafeteria. (Master’s Thesis, June 1944) P. 95.

26 their duties, responsibilities, and cafeteria policy.

Such

organization means efficiency, public acceptance and economy of operation. In the Arcadia City Schools, authority for the program is vested in the city school superintendent, he in turn detailing sizeable responsibilities to the business manager and the school lunch supervisor.

The superintendent

recommends budgetary provisions, policies, and administrative practices in conjunction with the supervisor and business manager.

He also, through periodic conference with the

supervisor, evaluates the various phases of the program to determine if suitable outcomes emerge and if goals are being met.

The business manager is primarily concerned with budget

aspects, letting bids, storage facilities, distribution of foods to school sites, and salary payments to personnel.

The

effective functioning of the program is largely in the hands of a well-trained and experienced supervisor, who is delegated broad responsibilities for which she is accountable to the superintendent and other school personnel.

Principals,

teachers, and nurses in the respective schools act in an advisory capacity. Supervision.

Perhaps more responsibility for the

effectiveness of school lunches is residual in the supervisor than in any other individual.

It is obvious that training and

experience in a multitude of fields is not only desirable

2? but a primary prerequisite to the school lunch supervisor. Her responsibilities are broad and numerous.

She is in large

measure personally accountable for selection and training of personnel, preparation of menus and food, inspection of service facilities, sanitation, equipment and employee morale. Herduty extends to

accounting procedures, ordering of foods,

inventories, auditing, banking and submittal of periodic reports.

Lastly, she is in a large measure responsible for

publicity and pupil participation in the program.

Bryan

states, The relation of the director to the educational department is that of a staff officer. She is responsible for the business operation of the cafeteria according to the procedures established by the board. The advantages of centralized management are readily demonstrated in systems in which cafeterias have formerly been operated as independent units, as well as in any of the systems in which it is now the accepted organization.5 Briggs and Hart are in agreement when they say , "Efficient supervision and management are absolutely essential to the successful operation of public lunch­ rooms. "6 An evaluation of the supervisor in the Arcadia Gity Schools on the basis of defined standards shows that she rates superior in the various standards related above.

She is

5 Mary DeGarmo Bryan, The School Cafeteria. (Hew York: F. S. Crofts & Co. , 1946) pp. 3^39. ^ Howard L. Briggs and Constance C. Hart, The Business of Running a Modern School Lunchroom. (The nation's Schools, 5* December 193l) pp. 60-64.

28 especially strong in leadership, organization, training, and experience.

High quality supervisors are indispensable to the

success of school lunch programs. In the Arcadia Schools the supervisor is responsible for the following supervisory duties: 1.

Personal conferences with related school personnel as often as possible.

2.

Daily personnel checks in kitchen.

3.

Daily kitchen preparation and service checks.

4.

Personnel problems discussed along with menu breakdown and timekeeping at weekly meetings.

5".

Direct operating responsibilities with cafeteria managers, working through and with them.

6.

Daily food standard checking, tasting, receipe practice and criticism.

7.

Supervision of food purchasing, menu preparation, accounting, banking, and keeping of records.

Pood Purchasing.

The purchase of food for the school

lunch program is one of the most important of the supervisor’s duties.

Its importance is attributable largely to the fact

that food choices have to be made carefully since the health of so many school children depend on careful selection of superior quality merchandise.

Another factor of considerable

import is the amount of money spent annually in food purchasing. The lunch program demands that food be fresh, appetizing and sanitary.

Proper allowance must be made with respect to

vitamin content, protein, starch, carbohydrate, and sugar

29 values.

Food content must be of such a quality and nature

as to contribute to all dietary needs and provide maximum energy for growing children.

Such aspects as standard brands,

size of containers, seasonal supply and cost must be considered.

Federal and state food laws must also be

complied with.

Lastly, we cannot forget color and its

consequent effect upon the attractiveness of a lunch plate. Foods may be purchased from several sources, namely, direct from producers, through the middleman or through cooperative associations. done with care.

Purchasing from peddlers must be

After determining the amounts of food

needed, specifications for food must be analyzed, price lists must be canvassed and frequency of purchasing determined. The advantages of central buying by means of contract should be emphasized although there will be times when spot buying is necessary.

Advantages of central buying are listed by Bryan

as follows: 1.

It is possible to control standards of quality and to secure uniformity of products.

2.

Price advantage is inherent in the purchase of foods in quantity.

3.

The responsibility is placed in the hands of a specialist who is presumably trained in the field.

4.

Definite purchasing procedures are followed.

5.

Inventories in individual schools are easily controlled.

6.

Managers in the individual units are enabled to concentrate on other phases of their work, although their assistance is imperative in the checking of goods received.7

Farnam lists nine factors to consider in buying fruits and vegetables.

They are,

1.

How much of each item you will need

2.

Your purchasing power

3.

The various sources of supply

4.

Your over all storage facilities

5.

Keeping characteristics —

6.

When you will need and use it

7.

The use to which it will be put

8.

Preparation facilities and labor cost involved in preparation

9.

Selling price^

use old stock first

The citations listed seem to emphasize the importance and diversity of problems related to the purchase of food for cafeteria programs. In the Arcadia schools, the preponderance of food is purchased at market value by contract where feasible.

Some

foods are available at reduced prices in the form of surplus

^ Mary DeGarmo Bryan. The School Cafeteria. (Hew York F. S. Crofts & Company, 1946;, p. 322. ® Mary Farnam, Nine Factors to Consider When Buying Fruits and Vegetables. (School Management, 17: April 1946) p.’ 26.

31 agricultural commodities made possible through federal subsidies to farmers. All purchasing is done out of the central office through weekly orders that come from the cafeteria managers. As a result of periodic conference of supervisor and cafeteria managers, regular days are set aside for menu planning. Specific days are provided for purchasing through salesmen. Delivery days are scheduled and integrated with storage facilities.

Constructive discussions with the cafeteria

managers determine the needs for the week in terms of market conditions, recipes, and normal trends in the school year. A very helpful and indispensable aspect is the perpetual inventory, kept by the supervisor.

Starting the

school term with an original inventory, the supervisor keeps a stock control of subsequent purchases and daily consumption. This is an effective device in that it makes possible a constant and uniform control of purchases and supply on hand at the various schools and the central storage area. Milk orders for the next day are phoned to the supervisor daily in the early afternoon from each school. She in turn calls the dairy, they making distribution to each school the following morning.

A special record form,

tabulated in the supervisor's office makes possible a running account of milk consumption daily in each school.

Similar

record forms are kept to measure the flow of other food products.

32 It should he pointed out that purchasing is directly related to seasonal situations, market conditions, etc. During certain seasons of the year some foods are more plentiful and consequently cost less.

This is especially true

of vegetables and fruits. Preparation.

Preparation of food for school children

is a very necessary adjunct of the school lunch program. Food must be prepared in terms of bodily needs: daily calorie requirements, necessary vitamin content, and provision for a balanced diet.

With respect to balanced meals, nutritional

standards demand a balance in proteins, cereals, butter, milk, fruit, vegetables, and eggs. Cafeteria kitchens must be adequate in size, have proper equipment, and necessary sanitary facilities.

Every

safeguard should be taken to keep food preparation clean. Both kitchen and lunchroom must be light, airy, and cheerful as well as easily accessible to children on ground level. Garbage disposal and storage must be adequate.

Cafeteria

managers and kitchen workers must be clean in dress and habits.

All personnel should have periodic health

examinations.

The popularity of the school lunch is conditioned

by variety and tasty preparation.

Fiolette Johnson, of the

Bakersfield City Schools enumerates preparation factors pertinent to the program.

33 "Food Preparation and Display The modern methods of cookery must "be used so as to pre­ serve vitamins and minerals, for example, vegetables should not be cooked in water, as little water as possible should be used in cooking vegetables. Vege­ tables must be cooked just before being served, eggs and milk foods must be cooked at low temperatures, .... Managers would be wise to keep up to date on books and magazines pertaining to the preparation of foods. Serv­ ing counters should attract the customer through color contrast, garnishes, and attractively arranged f o o d s . 1’? MacMillan discusses food preparation and control in her study of the cafeteria program.

She says in part,

The school lunch should be prepared to meet the food requirements of the child so that his noon-day meal contributes to physical development and thereby enables the child to be mentally alert. Then and only then is the school cafeteria fulfilling its purpose.10 Food preparation then is one of the most important factors in the success of the cafeteria program.

It is

basic to the health of school children. Through extended conferences with Catherine Rothe, Cafeteria Supervisor in the Arcadia schools, the writer was able to determine basic aspects of preparation as applied to the local program.

She listed them as follows:

1.

Equipment in kitchen

2.

Type of kitchen employees - trained or untrained

3.

Time allowance for preparation, service and clean-up

4.

Age and occupation of guests1 food preference and food requirements

9 Violette Johnson, Cafeteria Supervisor, Bakersfield City Schools, Business Management. California Assn. Public School Business Officials',. December* 1946'. 10 Marguerette Verion MacMillan, The Organization of an Elementary School Cafeteria. (Master’s Thesis 1944) pp. 73-4*

34 5.

Income versus cost equation

6.

Number to be served

7.

Type of service determined by place for service, number to be served, help available for serving lines

8.

Appearance of plate-harmonious colors, attractive arrangement, and right sized portions for age groups

9.

Variety introducing new foods, contrasting flavors, textures and colors

10.

Recipe selection

She lists the steps in preparing menus as, 1.

Plan a week at a time

2.

Skeleton a month at a time Plan main entree first Next vegetables Then salad Next bread Next dessert Beverage plans itself

As a result of observation and discussion with local nurses, teachers, children and parents, we feel that preparation factors in the Arcadia City Schools compare favorably with the best methods in other school lunch programs.

Preparation

is a big factor in the popularity of the school lunch. Banking and accounting.

As related earlier in this

study, the support of the school lunch program entails considerable expenditure in financial outlay.

Such costs fall .

largely into four categories, namely, buildings, equipment of lunchroom and kitchen, salaries of personnel and food

35 costs.

For the purpose of this study we will limit treatment

to the manner of handling funds that are received from the sale of school lunches.

Some treatment will be given to

capital outlay and salaries in a later chapter. Much of the success of the cafeteria program is contingent upon the adoption of proper procedures for the banking of funds and the keeping of financial records. Ford says, The successful management of a school cafeteria requires careful accounting. It should be complete enough to account for both the cash involved and the materials used, and to furnish the information needed for intelligent management. At the same time it should be made as simple as possible, for frequently it must be handled by a cafeteria manager who is not a trained bookkeeper.il In discussing policies adopted by financially successful cafeteria programs, McFeely contends, They have made every effort to obtain well-trained persons to be in charge of each part of the school lunch program. They have recognized the need of the best qualified employees to do justice to this part of the school system which expends and takes in such vast amounts of money.12 It is only fair to state that, in general, banking and accounting procedures in most schools having school lunches are relatively efficient.

Standardization is due in

William Stanley Ford, Some Administrative Problems of the High School Cafeteria. (New York: Teachers College, Columbia University, 1926) p. 92. Martha Yvonne McFeely, A Survey of Public School Cafeteria Finance. (Master's Project 1949) p. &5.

36 a large measure to Federal and state statutes which prescribe policies with respect to expenditure of public funds. Now let us examine the practices used^in the Arcadia school lunch program.

Of primary concern to us are the funds

directly paid by pupils for daily plate lunches.

According

to the cafeteria supervisor, handling of funds is as follows: 1.

Cash collection for lunches is made direct from pupils in service line by each school clerk — no tickets. Clerk is bonded.

2.

Clerk counts money, rolls for bank deposit and turns over to cafeteria manager who verifies count. The records are posted in ledger under daily receipts.

3.

Cafeteria manager turns receipts over to fund collector (usually reliable bus driver who is bonded) together with a statement for super­ visor's ledger.

4.

Supervisor makes deposit in cafeteria account of local school district daily before bank closure. Supervisor is bonded.

There are two methods of handling cafeteria accounts. One is by deposit in a local fund.

The other is deposit in

the office of the county treasurer.

The latter plan does not

provide for flexibility and ready access.

Local deposit

provides for daily deposit of funds and entry in the income cash book with a break down according to the number of schools in the district.

The break down permits an evaluation of the

costs as related to receipts in each specific school and whether each is self-sustaining.

The school lunch program in

the Arcadia schools provides for complete auditing and

accounting.

Books are audited by a public accountant

annually at the close of the fiscal year.

Since the Federal

government contributes to the program, books are audited annually at the close of the term by Federal and State auditors (Federal aid goes through State channels).

A

complete profit and loss statement is presented to the superintendent and district board monthly. kept showing daily income and disbursement.

Daily ledgers are Since the

supervisor's office is a part of the administrative staff offices, records and ledgers are immediately available to the superintendent, board, and business manager.

Our cafeteria

supervisor, Miss Catherine Rothe, has a splendid set of records.

She is revising them somewhat for next year to

permit a more fluid correlation of local, State and Federal reports.

Time does not permit of extensive treatment of

records in this project. Banking and accounting practices in the local district are adequate, efficient and simple in form.

Information with

respect to receipts and expenditures is readily available. Books are audited periodically.

Sound practices in this field

of the program give confidence to school board, administration and community. Publicity.

To gain pupil and parent acceptance, a

school lunch program must not only provide varied, tasty and well balanced plate service, but lunches must be

popularized by well planned publicity.

The importance of the

school lunch to many aspects of child welfare has previously been related in this study.

Since cafeteria programs are

educationally sound it behooves school personnel to give due publicity to the merits of a carefully planned plate lunch for school pupils. Publicity policies vary greatly in different schools although all give some form of attention to it. publicity must reach both student and parents.

Such In the

Arcadia district publicity is attained through the following channels. 1. Menus published weekly in local newspapers 2. Advance publicity on any changes in program 3. Menus are sent home with children in advance of serving 4. Open house to parents and school personnel 5. Through P.T.A. meetings 6. Boosting and understanding on part of administrative council 7.

Children eating plate lunch are best publicizers

8.

Attractive lunchrooms and kitchen

9. Attractive preparation and serving of foods 10.

Minimized waiting by pupils in service line

11.

Adequate supervision of pupils while eating

12.

Expounding values of balanced meals in daily program

39 13.

Pupil participation as kitchen and lunchroom assistants

14.

Elimination of "novelties'1 and provision for single plate lunch

With respect to the last item in the above list of publicity factors it should be noted that until recently "novelty” items were available to pupils during recesses and after school.

Such a practice was generally detrimental to

health and defeated the very purposes of the program. Present policy provides for a single, well-balanced plate lunch attractively arranged.

Provision is made for children

allergic to certain food items.

The single plate lunch for

pupils is considerably more popular with the parents of the local community.

During 1948-49 Service to pupils totaled

91,169 Type A lunches and 80,080 Type C servings (milk only). On this basis the average daily participation was 521 students or about 36% of enrollment.

Proper and carefully

planned publicity can do much to put over a school lunch program. Storage and distribution.

The volume and magnitude of

food consumption in cafeteria programs is such that provision must be made for proper storage and distribution.

Storage

facilities should be adequate, sanitary and well located with respect to preparation area.

They should likewise be well

ventilated, cool and free from insects and rodents. must be screened and doors provided with locks.

Windows

Since many

40 of the items are perishable proper refrigeration units are a necessity. In the local district weekly purchases from whole­ salers are usually routed directly to schools according to orders of the preceding week by individual schools.

Weekly

orders of canned goods from wholesalers are usually distributed direct by the supplier to each of the elementary schools. This is also true of milk and perishable food items such as fruit, vegetables and meats.

A local storeroom and proper

refrigeration service is prerequisite.

All five schools are

so accommodated. Most of the distribution service is taken care of by local suppliers.

The district also maintains a panel

delivery, driven by one of the local bus drivers.

Orders

are phoned to the supervisor by each cafeteria manager, who makes request for distribution through the business manager (in charge of transportation). By means of a series of records and periodic reports on the part of cafeteria managers, the supervisor is appraised at all times of inventories on hand.

By coordinating menus,

which are made out in advance, the supervisor is in a position to gauge the needs of each individual school.

Both

a periodic and running inventory are available at all times. Such a procedure materially assists the supervisor in

4-1 determining needs, ordering supplies and generally providing for uniform flow. Summary.

This chapter appraises certain administra­

tive procedures as related to school lunch service. were set up.

Standards

The general as well as the local district

policy, with respect to centralization of responsibility, supervision, purchasing, food preparation, banking and accounting, publicity and distribution and storage, were treated. Three-fourths of the authorities cited believed in centralization of responsibility beginning with the district board.

One authority would start with the cafeteria

supervisor.

On all other issues in this chapter, authorities

were in agreement. In the next chapter we will discuss the problem of personnel in the school lunch program, particularly with respect to the supervisor, cafeteria manager, cafeteria workers and the school nurse.

CHAPTER V PERSONNEL IN THE SCHOOL LUNCH PROGRAM In Chapter IV we discussed administrative aspects of the school lunch program appertaining to standards, centralizing responsibilities, supervision, food preparation, banking and accounting, purchasing and storage and distribu­ tion.

These factors were approached both from the standpoint

of general practice in the field and that which prevails in the Arcadia elementary schools.

This chapter will confine

itself to a study of personnel in the school lunch program with particular emphasis on (1) the cafeteria supervisor, (2) the cafeteria manager, (3) cafeteria workers and, (4) the school nurse.

Clerical help, pupil assistants, supervising

teachers, the custodian and principal are purposely omitted since their participation in menu planning, food preparation and service to pupils is limited and indirect. Cafeteria personnel are the human factors In the school lunch program.

Organization, execution and evaluation

of the school lunch is collectively their province.

The

quality of the school lunch and its ultimate acceptance by pupils and parents depend in a large measure upon food selection, sanitary preparation and the extent to which foods are appetizing and artistically served.

In sequence all

cafeteria personnel from supervisor on down to kitchen workers

43 have a specific part to play in the scheme of serving delicious, well balanced and nutritious meals to pupils.

Since

qualifications are somewhat variable with respect to the cafeteria staff, criteria for each will be enumerated separately.

All members of the staff however should be

congenial, well trained, experienced, healthy, and cleanly in personal habits. The cafeteria supervisor.

It has been previously

related in this study that the success or ultimate effect­ iveness of this important enterprise is, to a high degree, contingent upon the cafeteria supervisor. manifold and diverse.

Her duties are

Menu planning, food purchase, routing

and distribution, stock control, personnel supervision and training, banking, accounting, publicity and food preparation and service policies are all a part of her job.

In the

light of this multiplicity of duties let us enumerate traits that are prerequisite.

According to Catherine Rothe, Arcadia

cafeteria supervisor, the person in charge of the program should qualify as follows: Qualifications for a cafeteria supervisor 1.

Professional training B.S. degree in Home Economics and Dietetics Internship in administrative food service in a hospital, institution, or the equivalent Two or more years of business experience in commercial or school

Personal qualifications Well groomed Excellent personality Excellent health Good administrator - natural leader Stable Practical Adaptable to any situation - emergencies, etc. Get along naturally well with people Untiring Possess a natural food sense Business qualifications Working knowledge of food preparation and service from actual experience Good salesman, organizer and promoter Good teacher Actual personnel training - handling food service employees High food standards Actual buying experience Thorough knowledge of menu planning Food costing experience Working knowledge of equipment Experience in equipment, purchasing Good professional ethics

45 Experience in simple bookkeeping, timekeeping, payrolls, and office equipment1 The foregoing qualifications compare favorably with standards set up by Bryan.

She groups them under,

1.

College training

2.

Apprenticeship

3.

Experience

4.

Other qualifications2

An examination of standards as set up by the local cafeteria supervisor and Bryan would seem to emphasize that training, experience and natural talent are primary pre­ requisites.

Since education is leaning more and more toward

the participatory approach, it is important that a cafeteria supervisor be understanding, cooperative, and a genuine leader. The cafeteria supervisor in the Arcadia schools has had four years of dietetic training and nine years of practical business experience in the field of school lunch management.

Planning daily lunches for the nearly 600 pupils

who participate is a job of considerable magnitude. After interviewing the local supervisor, observing her records and being familiar with her supervision technique in the writer's school, one reaches the conclusion that lunch­ 1 Catherine Rothe, School lunch supervisor, Arcadia Elementary Schools. 2 Mary DeGarmo Bryan. The School Cafeteria. (New York: F. S. Crofts & Company, 1946), pp. 41-46.

46 room supervision in the local schools compares favorably with standards set up by authorities on this phase of the study. The cafeteria manager.

In referring to the cafeteria

manager we have in mind the individual who is in charge of the program at each elementary school.

Upon her shoulders rests

the responsibility of preparation, service, ordering and general stock control.

She is likewise responsible for

directing and coordinating the work of her cohorts in a given school.

Since she works with food, personal cleanliness,

health, manners and dress are very important.

She must be

pleasant, kind, understanding and sympathetic in her relationships with fellow workers.

Of especial importance is

her ability to cook food in an appetizing manner and to arrange it attractively.

According to MacMillan the cafeteria

manager should qualify as follows: The cafeteria manager must know how to get along with people and temperamental demands that she will have to cope with would be no small problem. For this reason the cafeteria manager should be taken into serious consideration. It is not only imperative that their personalities be satisfactory, that they have good business judgment, that their education be such as to enable them to meet and work with teachers and principals and that they know food, but they must know how to manage, to buy, to serve good food economically and to keep their accounts on a paying basis and at the same time regulate prices as to avoid the accumulation of profit.3 3 Marguerette Verion MacMillan, The Organization of an Elementary School Cafeteria. (Master’s thesis 1944) p. 20,

The implication in the above quotation is that the duties of a cafeteria manager are manifold —

which call for

broad experience and training. The local school lunch supervisor sets up the follow­ ing qualifications for a cafeteria manager. Qualifications of a cafeteria manager 1.

Attitude Sincere interest Kind, patient and cheerful in dealing with children Enjoy working with food and people

2.

Personal Hygiene and Appearance Regular bathing and use of body deodorant Care of nails and hair Clean, simple work uniform Washing of hands after returning from toilet, using handkerchief or rearranging hair Shoes clean and in good repair Stockings clean, mended and fastened with straight seams

3.

Work habits Reporting on time Hanging up dresses, coats and hats from street Leaving purse and packages in correct place Getting busy immediately upon arrival for work Work without stopping to talk Clean tasting sppon each time food is tasted

Organize materials before starting a job A good housekeeper Keeping dish towels and hand towels separated for their specific task Being ready to serve lunch on time Planning own work to make all effort count in production and selling operation 4. Preparation and service Natural likeness for food preparation Skill in simple, well seasoned methods of preparation Thrifty cook - a sincere waste consciousness Ability to follow through on instruction Dependable for high standards of food preparation and service^ It is almost impossible to get a cafeteria manager who will meet all of the above requirements, but high standards with respect to choosing a cafeteria manager are very important. Cafeteria workers.

It can almost be said that the

qualities requisite for a cafeteria manager are also necessary for the cafeteria workers. so high.

However, the demands are not quite

This is particularly true with respect to leader­

ship, initiative and originality.

Such workers should have

an excellent and broad knowledge of menus, cooking, nutrition, attractive plate service and preparation, child health, etc. 4 Catherine Rothe, School lunch supervisor, Arcadia Elementary Schools.

49 They should he meticulous in their personal health habits and cleanliness.

A cheerful and kindly disposition is also an

important factor since they are working with and contact fellow workers and school children.

Cheerful and radiant

personnel, clean and attractive in appearance exert considerable influence on making the noon lunch time a happy experience for children.

A very fitting statement with

respect to the duties of cafeteria workers comes from the bulletin, "The School Lunch." The Cook is one of the most important people in the school lunch program. She has many duties, and, on her ability and willingness to do her job often depends the success of the school lunch. The cook is usually responsible for planning menus, preparing market orders, buying food, storing food, keeping the kitchen and lunch room clean and orderly, following recommended sanitation procedures, and cooking food that is tasty and nourishing.7 The writer had many personal conferences with cafeteria workers in three of the elementary schools of the district. He has observed them in the process of lunch preparation. Correlating observation and conference with evaluation by the head supervisor causes one to believe that the cafeteria workers in local lunch rooms compare favorably with qualifications as standardized in literature on school lunch programs. The school nurse.

It is hardly necessary to discuss at

5 California State Department of Public Health, The School Lunch. (San Francisco: June 1945), p. 5-

length the qualities, training and experience of the school nurse.

She has a conspicuous place in the lunch program.

Since she has multitudinous records and makes periodic as well as specific health studies of children, she is in a commanding position to render much service and advise in menu planning.

Her most important contribution is to see that

under-nourished school children get sufficient nutritive requirements.

Many children, because of economic circum­

stances, cannot purchase a balanced plate lunch.

In the

Arcadia Schools, lunches are provided free to these students who in turn act as kitchen monitors or aid in cleaning lunch­ room tables.

Children have personal dignity and would rather

perform some task to earn the lunch. Our school nurse takes a position at the head ofthe service line at meal' time where she is in a good position observe food choices and eating habits of children.

to

She

frequently assists in the supervision of the children during the lunch period, circulating among the tables to observe and guide in developing table manners and eating habits.

It can

certainly be said that no cafeteria program is complete without the judicious observation of a competent and interested school nurse who makes it her business to know pupil eating habits and what type of nutriment is provided for them.

Summary.

In the foregoing pages of this chapter the

writer has given special attention to the qualifications necessary for supervisors, cafeteria managers, cafeteria workers and the school nurse.

Standards are supported hy

literature in the field of school lunch programs and through conference with personnel in the local district.

Comparison

was made between accepted standards and those which prevail in the local district.

All of the authorities cited in

this chapter are in unanimous accord with the thesis that standards for supervisor, cafeteria manager, cafeteria workers and nurse should be of the highest order. literature, not quoted, agreed in content.

Additional Chapter VI

which follows will be concerned with a brief treatment of aspects of food service to children with particular emphasis on the mechanics of serving pupils and their super­ vision during the lunch period.

CHAPTER 71 ASPECTS OF FOOD SERVICE TO STUDENTS In the previous chapter the problem of cafeteria personnel was discussed from the standpoint of the supervisor, the cafeteria manager, cafeteria workers, and the school nurse.

Standards were enumerated and personnel in the local

elementary school was evaluated on the basis of qualifications as established by authorities.

In this chapter we will

discuss aspects of food service to pupils with emphasis on (1) determining daily participation and (2) pupil supervision during the lunch period. Determining daily participation.

Much of the

organization and planning with respect to cafeteria service is conditioned by the number of children that are to be served in the entire district as well as the enrollment in a particular school.

Food purchase, food preparation, stock

control, amount of equipment and adequacy of lunch room space are all contingent upon the number of pupils that are to be served.

The number and type of personnel is also regulated

by pupil participation. In a review of the literature read bearing on school lunch programs, little evidence is to be found with respect to specific procedures in food service to children.

The

writer believes that local circumstances and conditions in a

particular school district effect such organization and in reality opportunity for the use of diverse methods may he desirable in some respects.

This does not mean that any

organization should he ineffective.

Careful evaluation by

administrators, teachers and cafeteria personnel will usually result in an acceptable system. To determine how much food should be prepared daily it is necessary that cafeteria managers know how many children will participate on a given day.

A simple, easy method

prevails in the Arcadia lunch program.

Menus for the follow­

ing week are placed in each teacher’s mailbox on Friday.

On

Monday morning and succeeding mornings during the wed$ the teacher counts the number of children who will be taking lunch that day.

After count is made, the teacher cuts the day’s

menu from the weekly menu, writes down the room count, room number, and teacher’s name on the detached daily menu, where­ upon she forwards it to the principal's clerk with her daily attendance record.

The clerk compiles the total for the

school and immediately transmits same to the cafeteria manager. .Ho money is collected in the rooms. for plates or milk in the service line.

Children pay

The educational value

of handling money and being responsible for the fee is worthy. Many students who bring sack lunches want milk at the cafeteria counter.

The procedure is the same as for plate lunches.

addition to educational values, it exempts the teacher from

In

54 an additional work load and the responsibility of handling money.

Teachers are not bonded. It is common practice among some schools to sell

weekly or daily tickets to children and collect the money, transmitting it in turn to the cafeteria manager via students. In the Arcadia schools it is felt that handling money is a vital experience in the pupil’s life. An example of how children are routed through service lines in one school is recounted by Julian. The children, starting with the first graders, form in line in the hall, pick up their service tray and napkin and pass along the serving table. At the end of the table the child is handed his hot plate lunch. He then picks up his bottle of milk or glass of fruit Juice and takes his place in the dining room ... When the pupils have finished, they carry their soiled dishes to the table at the rear of the room, placing their milk bottles in the empty bottle case, their soiled silverware in the silverware container and their bottle caps and paper napkins in the waste paper cans. Pupil workers in the dining room collect the trays, scrape the plates and remove the soiled dishes to the kitchen.4 In the Niles Township High School, Skohie, Illinois, the senior civics class acts as monitors.

Harbert describes

it as follows: The traffic department's job consists of supervising stairways, doors and serving lines. Pupils must enter doors designated and a senior boy or girl stands on duty to see that they enter without d i s o r d e r . 2 4 (Nation's 2 (Nation's

Raymond S. Julian, They Like to Eat at School. Schools 39* June 1947), p. 43. Grace G. Harbert, Democracy in Action in the Cafeteria. Schools 37* June 1946), p. 64.

The procedures as illustrated above are similar in organization to many schools.

Variances will be found

frequently but the pattern is about the same in any cafeteria program whether elementary or high school. Pupil supervision during the lunch period.

In the

Arcadia elementary schools, food serving areas are supervised by teachers.

The number of teachers supervising a given

lunch period is contingent upon the number of children who participate in the lunch service.

Hence, there is a

variation within schools of a given district.

In our school

(688 enrollment) it is necessary to have two teachers super­ vise the primary group who eat at 11:30 and two additional teachers for the intermediate group who eat at 12:00.

I

refer here to children who take plate lunches and eat in the lunchroom proper. The remainder of the children bring sack lunches or go home for food service.

Those who bring sack lunches are

permitted to eat at tables under a shelter or in the open outside depending on weather conditions.

Here again, primary

and intermediate children eat at different sittings5 11:3° and 12:00.

One teacher supervises each group.

Children are conducted to the service area whether inside or outside by each respective teacher and discharged to the lunch supervisors.

Each room has a large card with a

number on it which permits numerical preference or rotation

56 in the service line daily. for the service line.

This eliminates crowding and racing

Upper grade children assist as

"safeties" in supervision of students at the entrance to the service lanes.

The nurse and principal are usually in evidence

and assist in supervision. At the end of the service line, the school clerk or a bonded teacher collects the fees for plate lunches.

Money is

counted, wrapped for bank deposit, and turned over to the cafeteria manager along with a written record of the same. The funds are re-checked by the manager and sent to the central office daily where entries are tabulated after which deposits are made from all schools in the local bank. Summary.

In this particular chapter we have recounted

procedures for routing children through lunch lines to the service tables and their supervision during the lunch period by teachers within the school.

Some illustrations of routing

were quoted from current literature.

Although the two

authorities quoted give credence to the belief that students should form in line before access to the service counter, they do not necessarily agree on routine.

The majority of

*

references make no mention of this aspect of the lunch pro­ gram.

Chapter VII which follows will be concerned with

financing the school lunch program.

Practices will be

enumerated from current literature.

The financing of the

program in Arcadia schools will be an integral part of the chapter.

CHAPTER VII FINANCING THE SCHOOL LUNCH PROGRAM In the preceding chapter the problem of food service was discussed in terms of ascertaining how many were to be served daily and the type of supervision that was necessary during the lunch period with particular emphasis on those aspects as prevailing in the Arcadia schools.

In this

chapter it will be our purpose to delve into the problem of financing the lunch program, emphasizing (1) distribution of funds, (2) determinants of expenditures, (3) service charge to students, (4) Federal aid and (5) school district funds. Distribution of funds. considerable money.

School lunch programs cost

In 194? New York City schools spent

eleven million dollars for the cafeteria program. Pasadena spent five hundred thousand dollars.

In 1948

The profit

motive was once considered as being paramount in lunch room operation but it is rapidly falling into disrepute.

Today,

in most instances, the program is operated essentially as an integral part of the educational scheme with emphasis on self support and no more.

If we think of the cafeteria as a

service unit with an educational purpose then financial outlay can be justified.

With the exception of indigent

pupils, there is no group in the schools which needs to be fed at public expense.

It is generally agreed that certain

items in cafeteria operation may rightfully be included in prices charged for food.

Such costs as food, all wages,

replacement of small equipment, refrigeration, paper and cleaning supplies and laundry service are among these. Insurance, large equipment, lunch room facilities and nominal costs of distribution and storage service are usually paid for by the district.

In some cafeterias

reserves are set up for depreciation. With respect to the distribution of the food dollar there is considerable variation.

A breakdown of 91% of the

nation’s schools shows a distribution as follows: In 91 per cent of the cities, expenditure for food range from 58 to 66 per cent; expenditure for wages and managerial expense range from 25 to 33 per cent. In 4 per cent of the remaining 9 per cent, food costs range from 50 to 58 per cent; in 5 per cent they range from 66 to 72 per cent. Wages, including managerial expense, fail within the range of 25 to 33 per cent in all but two cities, one of these showing 21 per cent, another 39 per cent.l Bryan further states that in general salaries should not constitute more than 30 per cent of sales in well managed cafeterias.2 As a means of comparison, the distribution of funds in the Arcadia schools for 1948-49 show a break-down of

1 Mary DeGarmo Bryan, The School Cafeteria. (New York: F. S. Crofts & Company, 1946) p. 12&1 2 Ibid... p. 127.

59 37.1 per cent for salaries, 58.3 per cent for food, and 4.6 per cent for miscellaneous.

The receipts from sales of

lunches hear all expenses of salaries, food, and operation. The district budget provides for all of the supervisor’s salary.

Eighty-one and one-half per cent of the food costs

are borne by sale of lunches and 18 per cent by Federal subsidization.

The total unit cost of a lunch in the local

schools is approximately 32 cents.

Federal contributions

and district payment of the supervisor’s salary make up the difference between the 25 cent charge to the student and the 32 cent cost per meal. Determinants of expenditures.

If it is educationally

sound and feasible to spend large sums of money annually, for the cafeteria program, it is only reasonable to assume that criteria should prevail for judging how wisely such monies are spent.

The writer believes that expenditures

for a school lunch program should be governed by the follow­ ing standards. 1.

Be business-like and use business methods in cafeteria accounting, banking, and the keeping of records in simple form.

2.

The school cafeteria should be relatively selfsustaining and a non-profit enterprize.

3.

Provide for periodic audits by outside auditors who know something about school auditing.

4.

Depend upon local financial support as much as possible with emphasis on plate lunch receipts; school district and federal funds to be secondary (often limited by legislation).

60 5.

Provide for frequent, objective evaluation of personnel, equipment, and food purchases to eliminate waste.

6.

Purchase by contract or bid where ever possible. Buy staple, standard brands of uniform quality. De-emphasize.spot purchase.

7.

Emphasize the educational contribution of the school cafeteria as related to learning and to physical and mental health, all of which are justifiable reasons for expenditure of pupil and public funds.

8.

Strive for maximum participation, the purpose of which is to increase the ratio or pupil support as related to other forms of support. This elicits and implies parent support and constructive publicity while at the same time providing for increased food sales with relatively little increase in personnel and equipment costs.

The writer feels that unless a cafeteria program is predicated on such criteria maximum value of expenditures is nullified.

McFeely in her financial study of the

cafeteria program contends that, School cafeterias have maintained their status as non-profit organizations. At the same time, they have made every effort to avoid becoming charitable units. It has not been their policy to operate on donated funds nor have they been in the habit of providing free school lunches. Indigent children have had their lunches paid for by the Community Chest, the ParentTeacher Association or have been able to work in the cafeteria for their meals. The cafeterias have been large business concerns which operate without thought of profit, but with the necessity of making ends meet.3 Unless policies governing expenditures of funds are 3 Martha Yvonne McFeely, A Survey of Public School Cafeteria Finance. (Master’s Project, 194-97""pp. 64-51

6l adhered to by school administrators and cafeteria personnel the basic support of the program will suffer from lack of educational and public acceptance.

Later in this chapter it

will be established that the lunch program in Arcadia meets the financial criteria set forth earlier in this section of the report.

The method of determination consisted of con­

ferences with the cafeteria supervisor and business manager respectively.

The writer also had access to records and

accounting procedures. Service charge to students.

It is a common practice

today for every school to make a service charge to students for plate lunches.

The amount of the charge varies.

Usually such charges range from fifteen cents to a maximum charge of 35 cents for a single plate Type A lunch. Arcadia program, the student is charged 25 cents.

In the Teachers

are charged the same although in many schools teachers are charged more than students.

This is especially true if,

as in some cases, teachers have certain food choices such as special salads or sandwiches. The total expenditure for the Arcadia cafeteria program during 1948-49 varied from $4,500 to $4,700 per month.

The distribution of that service for a specific

month was as follows: Salaries of personnel Cost of food Miscellaneous Total —

62 It will be noted that expenditures for wages run somewhat higher than the 30% allocation of a previous reference of this chapter. In our local situation, the receipts from sale of lunches bear all expenses of salaries, food, and operation with the exception of the supervisor's salary which is paid out of the district budget.

Eighty-one and one-half per­

cent of the food costs are borne by sale of plate lunches and milk, and

by Federal subsidization.

figures are for 194-8-49.

These

The total unit cost of a lunch in

the local schools is 32 cents.

Federal funds and district

payment of supervisor's salary makes up the difference between the 2? cent charge and the 32 cent cost per meal. Federal aid to school lunch urograms.

The second

source of basic support for school lunches is that paid by the Federal government to the states for re-distribution to school districts maintaining programs.

In successive

actions, the Federal government provided assistance through such agencies as the Works Project Administration, 1933> and the Secretary of Agriculture Public Law 320, 1935. In 194-4, Public Law 320 was revised to establish the community school lunch program.

It was through the latter

revision that provision for Type A, Type B, and Type C lunches was made, and set minimum requirements for the same.

Reimbursement to schools was on the basis of nine

63 cents for a Type A lunch, six cents for a Type B lunch, and two cents for a Type C lunch.

Public Law 396 modified

the former law to encourage the maintenance, operation and expansion of non-profit school lunch programs.

It also

made provision for some non-food assistance which permitted purchase of equipment, for their operation, maintenance and expansion. Act.

The law is known as the National School Lunch

Under it, annual appropriations are made by Congress

for school lunch assistance.4 During the past year in California, and hence in Arcadia, the Federal reimbursement has been five cents for Type A, and three cents for Type B lunches, which is substantially less than the amount provided for in the National School Lunch Act.

The government, during the past

year, has also contributed one and three-tenths percent per child meal served in the form of surplus goods. Murtha, in his study, gives considerable credit to Federal assistance. The states have benefited under this program of federal assistance. New lunch programs have been started in thousands of schools. But full achievement of program objectives will be possible only if every participating school keeps faith with purposes of the act (Public Law 320). Exclusive of commodities donated by U.S.D.A., schools participating in the 4 Martha Yvonne McFeely, A Survey of Public School Cafeteria Finance. (Master's Project, 1949) pp. 7-21.

64 programs spent 143 million dollars for food during the 1947-48 school year. During 1948-49, schools will spend an estimated 160 million dollars for food products.5 In addition to outright cash aid, farm subsidy programs make available to schools large quantities of surplus foods at reduced cost.

The enumeration below will

give some idea of savings involved during 1948-49* Dried Prunes case tt Dried Figs tt Canned Tomatoes tt Dried Peaches « Honey ti Dried Milk Grapefruit Juice rt n Canned Apples ft Cheese ft Powdered Eggs tt Peanut Butter sack Potatoes

Market Value 2.70 2.85 4.20 4.38 15.00 6.75 2.70 4.45 12.90 28.13 7.50 3.50

Cost to School .75 .75 .75 .75 .75 .75 .75 .75 .75 .75 .75 .75

Federal assistance to support school lunch programs seems to have been accepted by the various states, especially since distribution of funds and regulation of lunch programs is left up to state and local school personnel.

Certainly

the contribution is sizeable. District aid to the school lunch urogram. been related earlier in this study that

It has

local school

districts, by virtue of state statutes, frequently render certain types of support to school lunch programs.

With

5 Joseph M. Murtha, Federal Lunch Programs (Nation's Schools, June 1949)

65 the advent and sustained growth of the school lunch movement, virtually all states have provided funds for purchase of lunch room equipment, construction of lunchrooms and in some instances payment of wages to personnel.

Pew states

permit purchase of food items with public monies except for instruction in home economics classes.

To do so would be

contrary to our earlier contention that programs should be self-sustaining and non-profit. In the Arcadia schools no district funds are used to defray food costs.

Pupil support to the cost of each

lunch is 25 cents as related earlier. ment assistance is five cents.

The Federal govern­

Since we previously

established that the cost of a plate lunch in the local school district is 32 cents, a two cent deficit exists.

The

deficit is liquidated by district support in payment of the supervisor’s salary. The local school district, as do many others, gives considerable support in the form of lunchroom equipment. During the year 1948-49, the following equipment was purchased. Two Hobarts - 20 quart Attachments Dishwashers One Salvajar Total Plus equipment, one school Total equipment purchased

$

720.00 180.30 1 ,902.10 WJL / m W

$ 4,200.00

66 It should be remembered that equipment costs are variable depending on needs and market values. Summary.

In Chapter VII the writer has discussed

the problem of financing the lunch program with emphasis on distribution of costs, determinants of expenditures, service charge to pupils, Federal support and district contribution.

Authorities have been cited for the purpose

of determining accepted practices.

All authorities were in

agreement that lunch programs should be self sustaining with respect to food costs, that programs should be non-profit, and run on a business like basis.

They further agreed that

most programs receive support from pupil service charge, Federal support and district contribution.

Chapter VIII

will be devoted to the treatment of the lunchroom proper and lunchroom equipment. omitted.

Kitchen equipment is purposely

CHAPTER VIII THE LUNCHROOM AND EQUIPMENT The previous chapter was concerned primarily with financing the cafeteria program with respect to support in similar programs and a description of the plan as operated in Areadia.

Criteria for dispensing of funds were enumerated.

We reviewed such aspects as distribution according to segments of the program, determinants of expenditure, service charge to students, Federal aid and district support. In the current chapter, the purpose will be to treat briefly of (1) the lunchroom proper and (2 ) the lunchroom equipment.

Proper standards for both will be included.

The writer will purposely omit reference to kitchen equip­ ment since literature on cafeteria programs is replete with extensive treatment and summaries of quantity and types required. The lunchroom proper.

The determination of what

constitutes a proper lunchroom or pupil service center is a multiple concern of architects, administrators, teachers, parents, cafeteria supervisors and pupils.

We say this

because of the multiplicity of uses to which a lunchroom is committed.

Since a unit involves a sizeable expenditure

of funds, careful planning is imperative.

Architects are

concerned over the creation of plans which will provide

the ultimate in beauty, serviceability and ease of access. Administrators are concerned in initial expenditure and upkeep as well as being interested in the concerns of the architect.

Of still greater importance, they are concerned

with the contribution of the lunchroom toward the educational program and pupil growth,

Teache r concern stems from an

interest in problems of supervision, and the emotional and physical effects upon pupils as related to habits, attitudes, group living and learning readiness.

Parents are interested

for the same reasons and to a lesser degree in the tax load of the community.

Children's interests in the cafeteria are

equally as important and varied,

A commodious and artistically

arranged lunchroom, properly located in relation to class­ rooms, has a far reaching effect on the behavior learnings of the child.

It helps him to feel good inside.

Group eating

should be a pleasant experience geared to all other facets of the educational pattern.

The cafeteria supervisor is

concerned with respect to how a well planned lunchroom will contribute to the popularity, success, organization, and planning of her program.

In short, all segments of the

community are concerned. But proper and adequate lunchrooms are too frequently non-existant, more especially so in many rural and impoverished areas.

All too often, pupils are served in

"an available room" due to the fact that the preponderence

69 of school plants were built before community demand for the school lunch program was so extensive.

Let us turn our

attention now to the lunchroom as an eating area for school children. The lunchroom proper.

A number of studies have been

made relative to the school lunchroom.

As related earlier

in this chapter many schools fall short of proper standards because of the age of their school building program.

This

has resulted in the appropriation of rooms wholly inadequate for the purpose.

Since lunchrooms contribute to educational

as well as nutritional experience, too much emphasis cannot be placed upon the eating area. Strayer and Engelhardt, noted building experts have established the following standards for the school lunchroom. 1. Location The cafeteria should not be located in the basement, but preferably on a ground-floor level with exits leading directly out of doors. The location should be such, however that doors do not permeate the other parts of the building. 2.

Size The size of the cafeteria will vary according to the needs of the school and those schools in which luncheon service is provided for all children. Uine square feet of floor space, exclusive of serving space, should be the minimum basis for reckoning capacity. 3.

Construction and finish The floors should be durable, warm, easy to clean, noise-resisting and resilient. The desirable floor is battleship linoleum inlaid on concrete. The room should be attractively planned so that a home atmosphere

70 will prevail, .... Walls and ceiling should be given an acoustical treatment, and the wainscoting should be of glazed tile or of such material as will permit readycleaning. There should be mechanical means for removing the cooking odors from the cafeteria, a.

Lighting Every means should be employed to provide for sun­ light and fresh air in this room, A 20 per cent ratio between window and floor area is desirable.I The above authors also say that, Practices vary greatly with respect to the provision of luncheons in elementary schools.2 In a study made by Ford for high school cafeterias he makes the statement that it is poor economy to provide seats enough for all students to eat at one time.

According

to him, About one-tenth of the schools with continuous sessions use only one period, more than half use two periods and nearly one-third use three periods. The size of the room may readily be determined when the number of seatings required is calculated..... Ten of the new schools with adequate provision in the dining room were selected, and it was found that they provide only an average of 8.8 square feet per seating in the dining room. This is exclusive of serving spa c e . 3 It will be noted that the allowance of 9 square feet per pupil by Strayer and Engelhardt and the 8.8 square feet as revealed in Ford's study, are very similar. 1 George D. Strayer and N. L. Engelhardt, Standards for Elementary School Buildings. (New York: Bureau of Publications, Teachers College, Columbia University 1933) p.120. 2 Ibid., p. 149. 3 Willard Stanley Ford, Some Administrative Problems of the High School Cafeteria. (New York: Bureau of Publica­ tions, Teachers College, Columbia University, 1926) pp. 26-27.

71 Bryan in her excellent hook on school cafeterias believes such factors as the following should he considered. The factors which must he considered in order to assure the greatest utility of the lunchroom are the fundamental and familiar ones of geographical location of the school, the style of architecture, the kind of school, the numbers and ages of the children who use the lunchrooms, the length of the lunch period, the type of lunch to be served, the uses of the room, and the amount of money available for building and equip­ ment. These determine the location of the cafeteria in the building, its size and shape, lighting, ventilation, finish and furnishings.4 Bryan5 also contends the lunchroom should be centrally located on or above the first floor, and that an allowance of ten square feet per child is adequate.

She is in close

accord with other authorities on lighting, ventilation, sound proofing, wall finish, and floors. Lunchrooms in the several schools in Arcadia do not compare in all respects with these standards.

Two of the

cafeterias are located in basements rather than on ground level, and one is located on ground level.

The fourth

school which is a part of this study, does not have a cafeteria, pupil service being in the classroom instead until such time as a cafeteria is built. covered with linoleum over cement.

Floors are not

The floors of two are

cement and one is of hardwood construction, it being used as

4 Mary DeGarmo Bryan, The School Cafeteria. (New York: F. S. Crofts & Company, 1946) p. 244. ? Ibid. , pp. 249-53.

72 an auditorium also.

Lighting and wall surfaces are generally

adequate but none are sound proofed.

Schools with cafeterias

in Arcadia use such units for many other purposes during the school day, evenings and on week-ends. have a two period lunch hour.

Two schools

One has three groups.

Because of climatic conditions in Southern California, some schools provide for service outdoors or under an open shelter.

Such service is usually restricted

to those children who bring sack or cold lunches. Lunchroom equipment.

In the matter of lunchroom

equipment, excluding kitchen, let us again turn to Strayer and Engelhardt for standards. The lunchroom should serve a social purpose. Its utilization should be planned so that children will secure a maximum educational return from participation in the lunch hours. The dining tables and chairs should be in harmony with the plan for the rest of the cafeteria. Drinking fountains should be placed at strategic points and checking stations should be provided. The serving equipment should be very simple. In general the lunch counter should be of sufficient length to serve rapidly. For the average sized school the following items of serving equipment should be provided: counter, steam table, ice cream packer, pastry and dessert table, bread and sandwich table, tray and silver rack, cashier's stand, checker's stand, cash register, dish heater, cocoa urn, milk trucks, and soiled dish racks.® 1-------

Strayer and Engelhardt, Standards for Elementary Schools. (Hew York: Bureau of Publications, Teacher's College, Columbia University 1933) PP. 150-51.

73 B r y a n 7 believes that chairs should be used instead

of stools or benches (they are more relaxing), tables should have beauty and utility, and of variable heights. The length of service counters

is variable depending

children served but fifteen to

twenty feet

on

is good.Her

standards for other items and quantities needed are similar to those of Strayer and Engelhardt. Our schools in Arcadia are equipped in three different ways.

Two of the older schools are equipped with

tables of varying heights to accommodate age ranges.

Tables

are of the fixed variety, being 42 inches wide and ten or twelve feet long.

Benches are

assorted heights corresponding

ofthe permanent type and to tables.

This is not the

best arrangement since rooms so equipped can be used primarily for lunch service only. not have a lunchroom.

One of the schools does

Children are served hot food at a

central location and eat in their rooms under the direction of their teachers.

While having some advantages such as

ease of supervision, this plan has many disadvantages in sanitation, meal temperatures, etc.

The other school is of

the newer type and has a "cafetorium". Tables in this lunchroom are collapsible as are the ^ Mary DeGarmo Bryan, The Sehool Cafeteria. (New York: F. S. Crofts & Company 1947) pp. 253-^3*

74 chairs.

The advantage in this type of equipment is an

extension of the uses to which the room might he put.

Other

than the lunch hour, it is used as an auditorium, for community gatherings, parent-teacher groups, and other uses. The disadvantage is with respect to moving and storing the equipment every time the room is used for another service. Since there is a trend toward increased use of schools as community centers, moving and storage becomes quite a problem.

The new school which is to be built this fall will

have wIn-Wall” tables and seating facilities.

This is

desirable but costly. In addition to tables and seating facilities, the lunchroom should be equipped with an adequate service counter, a cash register, and service lanes.

Some lunch­

rooms have snack bars and refrigeration equipment but there is a strong tendency toward a single plate lunch, making such equipment unnecessary.

Equipment facilities in the

Arcadia lunchrooms are not up to standard in terms of modern evaluation. Summary.

In this chapter the writer has established

standards for the lunchroom and its equipment by quoting authorities in the field.

All authorities were in general

agreement on most issues although two-thirds believed nine square feet as enough floor area per child while one-third thought ten to twelve square feet was more desirable.

Comparison of Arcadia lunch rooms and equipment with the standards set seems to indicate that local aspects are not of the most accepted type. treat of conclusions.

Chapter IX which follows will

CHAPTER IX CONCLUSIONS In the preceding chapters of this study, the writer has reviewed several phases of a school lunch program, namely, nutritional benefits to health, administrational aspects, personnel, service to pupils, financing the program and the lunchroom and equipment.

In each chapter

on findings, standards were listed as established by the literature in the field whereupon the writer made comparison of similar aspects of the Arcadia cafeteria program.

A

summary of conclusions reached with respect to the study are herewith presented. A. 1.

General Conclusions

The growth of the public school cafeteria pro­

gram has been rapid and recent.

Public acceptance has been

3ust as rapid. 2.

A good cafeteria program contributes considerably

to the social growth of the child, to educational experiences and to his physical and mental health.

It

helps to condition learning readiness. 3.

Because of Federal and state legislation, the

popularity of the program, its contribution to educational experiences and health and because of the adoption of sound policies on the part of school boards and school personnel,

77 the various phases of school cafeteria programs have been standardized so that very acceptable procedures have been established. 4.

Administration is generally good.

Methods of

handling funds, accounting and auditing are relatively sound. Competent, trained and experienced cafeteria supervisors, managers, and workers have contributed considerably to our knowledge of proper diet and proper preparation and serving of appetizing foods to school children. 5.

Quite acceptable standards have been developed

for financing the school lunch program. self-sustaining and non-profit making.

It is relatively Food costs are

generally defrayed by Federal reimbursement and fee charge to pupils for lunch service.

Local districts provide

lunchrooms, equipment and occasionally salaries of personnel. 6.

Lunchrooms frequently do not come up to standard

since many were erected before the advent of the cafeteria program.

Equipment is somewhat better. 7.

There is an increasing emphasis on in-service

training for personnel, on workshops, and school lunch institutes to standardize procedures, policies and services. 8.

More effort is exerted to popularize the lunch

program by giving more attention to publicity and consequent acceptance by parents, pupils and teachers. 9.

There is an increasing tendency toward contract

78 or bid buying of foods and equipment both from the standpoint of economy and standardization of quantity and quality food purchasing. 10.

Food preparation is increasingly better and

more artistic. 11. kitchen plan.

There is a strong tendency toward the central Where districts have many schools, the

theory is that preparation in a central kitchen is more economical and efficient.

Such operation also simplifies

storage, delivery, stock control and accounting procedures. Fewer personnel are needed. 12.

There is also a positive tendency on the part

of administrators and school boards to establish personnel policies on employment, tenure, retirement, and sick leave. It is felt that the policies relating to cafeteria personnel should be closely akin to other members of the school family. 13.

There is an increasing tendency to use lunch­

rooms for multiple purpose service —

Parent-Teacher

meetings, adult education classes, and miscellaneous meetings during the day and evenings.

In some of the newer

schools, the lunchroom also serves as an auditorium. term I,cafetoriumM is applied.

The

79 B. 1.

Conclusions with Respect to Arcadia The nutritional needs of the district's children

are being acceptably provided.

Food preparation is balanced

and nutritious, appetizing and artistically served. 2.

Administrational aspects of the program are

very satisfactory and probably better than that provided for most districts.

The cafeteria supervisor and cafeteria

managers are superior in experience and training. 3.

The personnel of the cafeteria program are

wholly satisfactory with respect to training, experience, health, cleanliness of personal habits, and personality traits. 4.

Routing of children through lunch lines and

supervision during the lunch program is satisfactory. 5.

Financial aspects of the program are excellent.

Contract buying is practiced. cafeteria fund is sound.

The theory of a special

Banking is regular and those

handling funds are bonded.

The local program is non-profit

and relatively self-sustaining. 6.

With the exception of one lunchroom, the serving

areas are below standard on several counts as is part of the equipment, particularly seating facilities, lunchrooms are in basements.

At least two

Floors, walls, natural

lighting, acoustic treatment and water fountain service are somewhat deficient as are washing facilities in proximity

to serving areas. In the preceding paragraphs of this chapter the writer has summarized in the form of conclusions, standards and accepted concepts as related to the efficient organiza­ tion and operation of a school lunch program.

He has

pointed out certain adequacies and deficiencies of the Arcadia program in terms of these conclusions, which characterize the basic intent of this study. The following and last chapter of this study will be devoted to statement of recommendations which might improve the local school lunch program.

CHAPTER X RECOMMENDATIONS In Chapter IX the writer enumerated several conclusions with respect to the generally accepted standards of a well planned school cafeteria program.

Conclusions as related to

the local lunch program, were an integral part chapter.

of the

The following and last chapter of the study is

devoted to certain recommendations which are based upon the conclusions reached in Chapter IX. Recommendations are as follows: 1.

Increased efficiency on the part of cafeteria

personnel might result from the planning of a series of workshops or school lunch institutes during the course of

.

each school term; the purpose of which would be additional training in food preparation, menu planning, cafeteria sanitation, health habits, personal relationships and the development of positive attitudestoward the job. 2.

The periodic use of a

standardized score card to

y'

evaluate all facets of the cafeteria program for improvement purposes. 3.

It is recommended that the school board,

administration and cafeteria personnel carefully study the advantages of a central kitchen for the purposes of economy of operation, stock control, storage, delivery, food

,

preparation, minimum accounting and the elimination of duplicate equipment and personnel.

This is especially true

of expanding districts. 4.

It is recommended that a cash register be

installed at the end of each cafeteria serving counter. 5".

Since new emphasis is being placed upon the social

and educational values of the school cafeteria program, it is recommended that the experiences of the cafeteria lunch hour be integrated to a greater degree with the curricular pattern of the school day.

The implication is that if

district funds are used, local board policies govern and state statutes regulate, then we must assume that the school lunch program is an integral part of daily' child experiences.

Let us take such experiences into the class­

rooms as an integrated part of the daily program. 6.

It is recommended by the writer that the local

district look forward toward the adoption of policies which will give cafeteria personnel status as to employment, retirement, sick leave, vacations and salary schedules somewhat akin to other district employees, particularly so since the cafeteria program is looked upon as an accepted function in our educational structure. 7.

Finally, it is believed that a sustained plan of

renovation should be adopted for the purpose of bringing substandard lunchrooms and equipment up to acceptable

^

patterns in terms of established criteria.

More emphasis

could also be placed upon the artistic appearance of lunch­ rooms generally if it be true that we look upon the lunch period as a social experience in group living. The writer believes that the school cafeteria pro­ gram has unlimited potential possibilities for making educational and nutritional contributions to pupil growth. It, therefore, behooves every school district to make careful appraisal of its school lunch program in terms of pupil needs and the demands of the community.

BIBLIOGRAPHY

A.

BOOKS

*Bryan, Mary DeGarmo, The School Lunch. New Yorks F. S. Crofts and Company, 1946. 740 pp. ♦Ford, Willard Stanley. Some Administrative Problems of the High School Cafeueria. New Yorks Bureau of Publica­ tions, Teachers College, Columbia University, 1926. 146 pp. *Gillete, Lucy, Food Allowances for Healthy Children.' New Yorks Association for Improving the Condition of the Poor, 1917# 231 pp. ♦Lowenberg, Miriam E., Your Child1s Health. New Yorks McGraw Hill Book Company, 1939. 299 PP. ♦Roberts, Lydia J., Nutrition Work with Children. University of Chicago Press, 1935. 2&9 PP.

Chicago:

♦Rose, Mary Swartz, Laboratory Handbook For Dietetics. New Yorks MacMillan Company, 1929. 173 PP. Smedley, Emma, The School Lunch. Sons, 1930# 199 PP.

Pennsylvanias Innes and

Spain, Charles L., The Public Elementary School Plant. New Yorks Rand McNally Company, 19307 S02 pp. ♦Strayer, George D. and N. L; Engelhardt, Standards for Elementary School Buildings. New Yorks Bureau of Publications, Teachers College, Columbia University, 1933. 181 pp. Womrath, George F . , Efficient Business Administration of Public Schools. New Yorks The Bruce Publishing Company, 1932. 463 PP. B.

PERIODICAL LITERATURE

Amendala, A. J., "Planning the School Cafeteria," School Management, 15*131> November, 1945. ♦Belhard, Edith T., "Personnel Policies in San Diego’s Cafeterias," The Nation’s Schools. 39*52 May, 1940,

8? *Briggs, Howard L. and Constance C* Hart r,The Business of Running a Modern School Lunchroom," The Nation's Schools. 5*48, December, 1931. IBryan, Mary DeGarmo, "So You are Planning a Cafeteria," School Executive. 64:55-8, October, 1944. Farnuxn, Mary. "Can your Cafeteria Pass a Sanitary Examination?" School Management. 14:286-71, March, 1945. *Farnum, Mary, "Nine Factors to Consider When Buying Fruits and Vegetables," School Management. 17*26-29, April, 1948. Farnum, Mary, "Workshops Can Create Great Interest," School Management. 17:36-8 , January, 1948. Flaum, H . , "From the Administrative Viewpoint," Practical Home Economics. 24:96, February, 1946. *Harbert, Grace G., "Democracy in Action in The Cafeteria," The Nation's Schools. 37*64, June, 1946. Hargis, V. B . , "One Kitchen Serves Eleven Schools," The Nation's Schools. 40:56-7, July, 1947. Julian, Raymond S., "They Like to Eat at School," The Nation's SchoolsT 39*43, June, 1947. *Knoll, A. A., "Central Kitchen Operation Pays," The Nation*s Schools. 41:53, March, 1948. Kohlne, M . , "Lunch Room Problems in Rural Communities," School Management. 15*502-3, May, 1946. Mantell, H. P., "Democratic Organization and Management of A'School Lunchroom," H. Points. 27*66-9, March, 1945. Marshall, J. E., "Facilities For Food Service," School Executive, 66*50-3, December, 1946 Mathias, Jane and Katherine Connelly Wisely, "School Cafeteria Score Card," The Nation*s Schools. 34:64, October, 1944. Mendanhall, M . , "In Lieu of a Dinner Pail," American School Board Journal. 112:57-9, June, 194