School lunch in Japan is such a very organized system. It is either prepared in the school by the school lunch teachers and the school nutritionist or in some area, in a school lunch center serving a group of schools.
The school nutritionist makes the menu for the whole month and distribute it to each teachers in the school one month in advance. The teachers post the menu in the bulletin board for everyone to see. That means to say, students already know what they are going to eat on a specific day the following month.
The school lunch teachers prepare and cook food every day and make sure that everything is complete in each lunch wagon according to the number of classes and students including the teachers as well as volunteer teachers. About 30 minutes before lunch time, lunch wagons are ready for pick-up in the pantry and the nutritionist take the food sample to the school principal for evaluation. The school principal will be the very first person in the school to try the food and her comment and evaluation is necessary. Students with food allergies are noted and given special menu.
What do students do during school lunch? Let us discuss them into three categories: 1) preparation time, 2) eating time, and 3) clean-up time.
1. Preparation time.
Each classroom has `kyushoku toban` or lunch committee who`s assigned to prepare lunch. The first thing they do is wash their hands and wear their white apron, hair mask and face mask. Then, they go to the pantry to pick up their lunch wagon. When they come back to their classroom, each one of them do their assigned tasks. There would be one or two students who would wipe the tables, some serve rice, main dish, side dish, and soup. Another student would distribute milk and straw. This system (slightly) changes between classrooms depending on the management of each individual teacher. Some teachers use a timer and measure how fast the students can finish the preparation. Some teachers would assign student leaders who call out which group of students can go line up and fill their lunch trays.
2. Eating time.
One good thing about school lunch is that students are trained to be patient to wait for everyone to have their lunch trays ready. No complain about being hungry or whatever. When everyone is ready, the student leaders (they call`nichoku)would go in front and lead everyone to say `Itadakimasu`. But, no, it`s not eating time yet for everyone. Those who think they’re serving is too much for them can do `herasu` (to reduce) and take a portion back into the food containers. This should be done before eating and never after touching your food. The students can only reduce the amount of food and never allowed to be picky and say no and put everything back into the food containers. Everyone has to eat what is being served unless they have food allergies. After the `herasu` is the `fuyasu` (to add). Students who want more servings can go line up and get more food.
The most exciting part is when they have “nokori” (excess food). Everyone who wants to get more will do ‘janken‘ (rock, scissors, paper) and the winners who are lucky can get more servings. The most famous is the ‘gyunyuu janken‘. Gyunyuu means milk and kids go crazy to win it.
School Lunch Broadcasting Committee
During eating time, the ‘kyuushoku iinkai” (school lunch committee) goes to the broadcasting room and do the daily broadcast about the day’s menu. They will broadcast the name of the menu, the ingredients and the nutrition they can get from each ingredient. They do it every single day.
Back in the classrooms, while eating and chatting and suddenly you hear the student leader says “Mogumogu taym desu“, that means everyone has to stop talking and concentrate on eating. Timer is set and everyone should finish their food when the time is up.
3. Clean-up time
When all the food is served, the classroom lunch committee will have the trays ready for clean-up. Everything on one’s plate should be consumed. Not a single grain of rice or a drop of milk should be left. Everything is cleaned like it’s washed. Before putting the utensils and tray back to the wagon, each student should get the approval of the teacher or in some classrooms, their seat mates/group-mates wether their trays are clean and there’s no left-over.
The classroom lunch committee together with the teacher adviser then push the wagon back to return to the pantry.
(Those slow eaters will have to finish their food and return their own trays to the pantry by themselves.)
Lunch with students
I have experienced Japanese school lunch from working as an ALT for many years and I can say that this school lunch system is very crucial not only for the Japanese children’s physical development but also for there social and moral development as well. This serves as a very good training ground instilling in the children a deep sense of responsibility, teamwork, fairness and equality. Children are taught the importance of nutrition and having a balance diet. This awareness, I think, is one factor why Japanese people live the longest in the world.
Menu
A typical school lunch menu consists of rice, main dish, side dish, soup (usually miso soup) and milk. Once a week, they serve bread instead of rice. Water is not served in school lunch and I have never seen a student or teacher drink water after lunch. They drink tea (ocha).
Below are photos of my school’s lunch menu in the month of October.
Monday, October 2, 2017 (barley rice, stir-fried eggplant, won-ton soup, apple, milk)
Tuesday, October 3, 2017 (plain bread, pork and beans, assorted fruits, milk)
Wednesday, October 4, 2017 (rice, chicken sukiyaki, komatsunanokurumiae, handmade tsukudani, lucky mooncake, milk)
Thursday, October 5, 2017 (barley rice, fried chikuwa (tube-shaped fish paste), radish salad, pork soup, milk)
Friday, October 6, 2017 (rice, sweet potato dish, seaweed salad, orange, milk)
Tuesday, October 10, 2017 (plain bread, spinach omelette, potato salad, minestrone, blueberry jelly, milk)
Wednesday, October 11, 2017 (chestnut rice, salt-grilled saury, pickles, miso soup, milk)
Thursday, October 12, 2017 (barley rice, meat and potatoes, vegetable and almond salad, orange, milk)
Friday, October 13, 2017 (curry and rice, coleslaw salad, milk)
Monday, October 16, 2017 (barley rice, chicken and egg dish, komatsuna salad, orange, milk)
Tuesday, October 17, 2017 (carrot bread, chicken and kashiwa stew, kaisou salad, milk)
Wednesday, October 18, 2017 (rice, grilled shishamo (capelin), persimmon salad, miso soup, milk)
Thursday, October 19, 2017 (barley rice, mabo tofu, bean sprouts salad, orange, milk)
Friday, October 20, 2017 (rice, omelet, kimchi kimpira, miso soup, milk)
Monday, October 23, 2017 (barley rice, fish, salad, miso soup, milk)
Tuesday, October 24, 2017 (Pita bread, chili con carne, carrot salad, kiwi fruit, milk)
Wednesday, October 25, 2017 (barley rice, fried fish, vinegared vermicelli, miso soup, milk)
Thursday, October 26, 2017 (rice, kimchi chigae, cucumber and bean sprouts namul, orange, milk)
Friday, October 27, 2017 ( genryou rice, curry udon, cucumber salad, kyoho grape, milk)
Monday, October 30, 2017 (rice, fried pumpkin meat, stir-fried kikuwakame, miso soup, milk)
Tuesday, October 31, 2017 (plain bread, salmon in cream, kiwi fruit, milk)
