French schools take lunch for kids seriously. The Ministry of National Education requires children to have lunch for 30 minutes to eat a civilized meal. The municipal government is tasked with operating the cantine, which is now called restaurant scolaire.
In France, children are in school all day, and education also covers learning about nutrition and meals. For them, learning how to eat a meal and appreciate diverse foods is like learning to read, write and do arithmetic.
The food selections are decadent dishes that toddler and school-aged French children get to eat every day at school, Delishably says.
Meal with four courses for daycare lunch
The children's main meal of the day is lunch, and they offer it in four courses. The first course is the vegetable starter which includes leafy green salad or sliced or grated vegetables. The second is the warm main dish, which contains a vegetable side dish. The cheese course comes after, the dessert comes last, and its fresh fruit four times a week, with a sweet treat on the fifth day.
All school lunches adhere to the national nutritional requirement. Only a maximum of four main dishes and three desserts can be high in fat. Fried food is limited to four meals per month, and it is likely the same four high-fat main dishes. Ketchup is only served once per week and only in limited amounts. Many schools do not serve ketchup at all.
For drinks, only water is served, and kids are not given sweetened and flavored milk.
The community and parents shoulder expensive meals
According to Cromwell International, the municipal government can set prices for the meals within limits set by the national law. The school lunch costs around €2.30-2.80. Wealthiest families might pay €5.40 per meal while low-income families pay €0.15. Free dinners are available for those who are not able to pay.
Vending machines are not allowed in schools, and parents are discouraged from sending their children to sack lunches, and very few parents would do.
The law also requires schools to post the week's menu.
How are meals prepared
Menus are prepared two months in advance by the cantine management staff. The menu is then sent to a certified dietician who reviews the menu. The dietician may take out a tiny chocolate éclair and replace it with a kiwi for dessert or modify the menu by adding more or fewer vegetables, fruits, carbohydrates, or protein to balance the meal.
The food is prepared in the kitchen and is prepared daily. The meals are also not ready-made frozen food. However, the kids have treated to a slice of tart, ice cream, or a pastry from a local sweet once a week.
Healthy French Kids
As per Mind Body Green, French children do not suffer from weight problems like obesity, diabetes, and hypertension like their American kids. Health experts point to kids eating moderate quantities of well-balanced and fresh food, daily exercises in two 15-minute and one 60-minute recess every day, and walking and biking to and from school also do the trick.
