{"id":52124,"date":"2020-05-04T23:21:46","date_gmt":"2020-05-05T06:21:46","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/world.edu\/?p=52124"},"modified":"2020-05-04T23:21:46","modified_gmt":"2020-05-05T06:21:46","slug":"lets-not-forget-the-health-and-social-importance-of-school-canteens","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/world.edu\/lets-not-forget-the-health-and-social-importance-of-school-canteens\/","title":{"rendered":"Let’s not forget the health and social importance of school canteens!"},"content":{"rendered":"

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The almost exclusive health concern accorded to the fight against the viral contamination of Covid-19 had initially led the drafters of the draft protocol for the reopening of schools to recommend that school meals be done in each class.\u00a0Groupings in canteens were indeed considered to be significant risk factors, in line with the opinions of the Scientific Council.<\/p>\n

This recommendation was ultimately not retained in the final official version, published on May 3.\u00a0And we can understand this if we keep in mind that school canteens play a role both health and\u00a0social<\/a>\u00a0which has also been at the very foundation of the national policy for their development.<\/p>\n

In this regard we should, in our situation, be particularly sensitive to the context and the nature of the call made in 1917 by Professor\u00a0Albert Calmette<\/a>\u00a0(bacteriologist known for the development of vaccination “BCG” against tuberculosis) faced with the influx into hospitals of under-nourished children and likely to become tuberculous:
\n\u201cSchool canteens must be developed, multiplied, made compulsory in all schools because it is absolutely essential to provide the children of the people with healthy and sufficient food for their physical development; it is a national duty. “<\/em><\/p>\n

Nutritional quality<\/strong><\/h4>\n

The call of Professor Calmette was not followed by a concrete start in 1936, at the instigation of one of the first three women to have been part of a government (that of L\u00e9on Blum, under the Popular Front), namely\u00a0C\u00e9cile Brunschvicg<\/a>\u00a0, Secretary of State for National Education “responsible for school hygiene and the social life of the child” – a title oh so unique and significant …<\/p>\n

In 1937, after an investigation, C\u00e9cile Brunschvicg published a ministerial report entitled “the question of food at the Ministry of National Education: school canteens” which would be a landmark;\u00a0and it decrees that from now on there will be an obligation to build a refectory in any new school.<\/p>\n

In the aftermath of the Second World War, an instruction of August 30, 1949 from the Minister of National Education\u00a0Yvon Delbos<\/a>\u00a0encouraged the construction of school canteens by allowing the State to subsidize half of the construction costs of the premises allocated to them.\u00a0The same day, another instruction introduces the first nutritional guidelines by laying down a few principles as to the nature of the food, its diversity, its nutritional quality and its quantity.<\/p>\n

Over time, the regulations relating to hygiene and nutritional quality were reinforced, in particular with the circulars of March 6, 1968 and June 9, 1971, and the decree of June 26, 1974.<\/p>\n

More recently<\/a>\u00a0, the decree of September 30, 2011, accompanied by the decree of the Minister of National Education for school canteens, set out to clarify the principle of the variety of meals by assigning them a new educational mission to taste.<\/p>\n

School canteen meals must now be prepared on the basis of around twenty consecutive menus promoting in particular raw vegetables, cooked vegetables, dairy products, meat and fish to the detriment of fried foods, preparations based on minced meat, pastries and ready meals.<\/p>\n

Official protocol<\/strong><\/h4>\n

Ultimately, in this month of May 2020, what are precisely the recommendations for school meals in the\u00a0\u201cHealth Protocol\u201d<\/a>\u00a0which has just been published?<\/p>\n

In the file devoted to \u201cManagement of half-board in elementary school\u201d, this protocol provides for the case of catering \u201cin the canteen or in the refectory\u201d.\u00a0\u201cRespect for social distancing measures\u201d must be applied to \u201call contexts\u201d, from \u201cpassage time\u201d, to \u201ccirculation\u201d, and \u201cmeal distribution\u201d, which implies reviewing the organization of schedules to “limit as much as possible the queues and crossings of students in the corridors”.<\/p>\n

If access to the usual premises is not possible, “catering can be done in the classroom under the supervision of an adult and in the form of trays or packed lunches”, in compliance with the rules of hygiene and respect for the cold chain<\/p>\n

The protocol goes back to essential barrier gestures: hand washing, wearing of masks by staff, disinfection of furniture or waste management.<\/p>\n

Questioned on\u00a0April 29<\/a>\u00a0on BFMTV and RMC, the Minister of National Education Jean \u2011 Michel Blanquer explained that “sometimes, students will be asked to come to school with their meals already prepared”, when the refectory remains inaccessible.\u00a0This questions other older statements where one of the main reasons for going back to school was that children from socially disadvantaged backgrounds could suffer particularly from confinement in terms of food, or even be in a state of lack of nutrition.<\/p>\n

The different actors in the concrete implementation of the protocol should think twice before discarding immediately the way of the school canteen and, consequently, the progress it represents historically, even if that remains to be perfected.<\/p>\n