The Provision of Meals Act of 1906 appli_The Feeding of School Children

we have seen, the attempt of the House of Commons to extend its

operations to Scotland was defeated in the House of Lords, and it was

not till 1908 that the Scottish School Boards were granted power to

utilise the rates for the provision of food.[546] By the Education

(Scotland) Act passed in that year it was enacted that a School Board

might, either by itself or in combination with other School Boards,

provide accommodation, apparatus and service for the preparation and

supply of meals.[547] Where it appeared that a child was unable by lack

of food or clothing to take full advantage of the education provided,

the School Board should, after due warning, summon the parent or

guardian to appear and give an explanation of the child's condition. If

the explanation was not forthcoming or was insufficient or

unsatisfactory, and the condition of the child was due to neglect, the

Procurator Fiscal should prosecute the parents under the Prevention of

Cruelty Act.[548] If, however, it appeared that the parent or guardian,

through poverty or ill-health, was unable to supply sufficient food or

clothing, the School Board, if satisfied that the necessities of the

case would not be met by voluntary agency, should make "such provision

for the child ... as they deem necessary" out of the school fund.[549]

Temporary provision might be made by the School Board pending completion

of procedure against the parents, and the cost of such provision might

be recovered.[550] The powers conferred upon Scottish School Boards thus

differed in several respects from those conferred on English Local

Authorities by the Act of 1906. The School Boards were granted power not

only to provide food but also clothing, and no limitation was placed

upon the amount which might be spent out of the rates on the provision

of these necessaries. Moreover, the Act was not permissive. In England,

when in any area school children are suffering from lack of food, and

voluntary funds are not forthcoming to meet their needs, the Local

Education Authority _may_ provide food out of the rates; in Scotland the

School Board _shall_ make such provision.

Footnote 546:

See ante, p. 48.

Footnote 547:

8 Edward VII., c. 63, sec. 3 (2).

Footnote 548:

_Ibid._, sec. 6 (1).

Footnote 549:

_Ibid._, sec. 6 (2).

Footnote 550:

_Ibid._

No report has yet been published by the Scottish Education Department as

to the action taken either by the School Boards or by voluntary agencies

in the work of the provision of meals. As far as we can gather from the

reports of the Chief Inspectors, though several Boards co-operate with

voluntary agencies and provide apparatus and service, in only some

half-dozen towns, _e.g._, Edinburgh, Glasgow, Govan, Leith, Perth, has

the system of providing food out of the rates been adopted to any

extent.[551] The increase in expenditure on the provision of meals,

etc., for necessitous children under the Act of 1908 is shown by the

following table:--[552]

Footnote 551:

During the coal strike in the spring of 1912, some Boards in the Fife

district took action under section 6 and provided free meals. (Report

of the Chief Inspector for the Southern Division for 1912, p. 11.)

Footnote 552:

Report of the Committee of Council on Education in Scotland, 1912-13,

p. 4.

Providing Food, Clothing or Total.

Accomodation other expenditure

for Meals, (for necessitous

Sec. 3(2) children) Sec. 6

1908-9 (Part of £ 67 £ 11 £ 78

year only.)

1909-10 290 921 1,211

1910-11 3,777 3,768 7,545

1911-12 4,586 3,172 7,758

In Edinburgh, the necessity for feeding underfed school children was

recognized[553] very soon after the passing of the Education Act of

1872. The Association for Improving the Condition of the Poor early

undertook to deal with cases reported by the Attendance Officers. In

1878 Miss Flora Stevenson started a scheme for feeding and clothing

destitute children, on condition that children so assisted must attend

school.[554] Towards the close of the nineteenth century numerous other

voluntary organisations appear to have been established.[555] As in

other towns the provision by these voluntary agencies proved inadequate

and unsatisfactory. Meals were supplied only for about ten weeks in the

year. They were served in eating-houses, where the food was poor and the

arrangements of the roughest description. The children were selected by

the teachers and attendance officers, and there was no adequate

investigation into the cases. In the autumn of 1909 the Lord Provost

summoned a conference to discuss the question, and a scheme of

co-operation between the School Board and the two chief voluntary

agencies, the Flora Stevenson Committee and the Courant Fund, was drawn

up, by which the voluntary funds were pooled, and cases were decided by

a committee consisting of representatives of the three bodies concerned.

In the following year the School Board undertook the entire

responsibility for the provision of meals, though it still relied on

voluntary contributions. It decided to establish a cooking centre of its

own instead of entrusting the supply of the meals to caterers. Care

Committees of voluntary workers were to be appointed for each group of

schools to investigate all cases of destitution, and to "keep in

continuous and sympathetic touch" with the families. Cases were to be

recommended by the medical officer, school nurses, teachers and

attendance officers, in addition to applications made by the parents;

the Care Committee was also itself to take the initiative in searching

out cases of destitution. To secure uniformity of treatment a Central

Care Committee, composed of representatives of the School Board and the

voluntary agencies, was appointed to give the final decision on all

cases; this central committee was also to supervise the collection of

the necessary funds, and to rouse general interest in the problem of

school feeding.[556] The Courant Fund declined to act with the Board

under this scheme, but the Flora Stevenson Committee co-operated

cordially.

Footnote 553:

For the following account I am mainly indebted to the kindness of Mrs.

Leslie Mackenzie and Mr. I. H. Cunningham.

Footnote 554:

Report of Select Committee on Education (Provision of Meals) Bills

(England and Scotland), 1906, Q. 4211; Report of Royal Commission on

Physical Training (Scotland) 1903, Vol. II., Q. 2396.

Footnote 555:

Report of Special Sub-Committee on Meals for School Children, in

Minutes of London School Board, July 25, 1889, Vol. 31, p. 382.

Footnote 556:

Edinburgh School Board, Memorandum on the Feeding of School Children,

1910, pp. 5-6.

The cooking centre was opened in January, 1911, and by the end of the

year the system of Care Committees was in working order. Voluntary

subscriptions rapidly decreased, however, and in May, 1912, the Board

resolved that recourse must be had to the rates. The Central Care

Committee thereupon ceased to exist, its duties being transferred to the

Attendance Committee. The local Care Committees, of which eight had been

appointed, were continued for a time, but at the beginning of 1913 the

duty of investigation was entrusted to the Attendance Officers,[557] and

the local committees also were given up. The system had not worked

entirely without friction. The method of investigation was cumbersome

and slow, and the local committees were not in sufficiently close touch

with the Central Committee. The committees were too large; from one to

nine schools were allocated to each, and the membership usually numbered

about twenty-five. But it is to be regretted that the system has been

entirely abandoned. Apart from the work of investigation, which, as we

have shown elsewhere, is not a task which can suitably be entrusted to

voluntary workers, there are many matters connected with the welfare of

the school child in which the volunteer's services can be of the

greatest value.

Footnote 557:

Two special officers have been appointed to make enquiries.

The meal given is always dinner, though in one of the poorest districts

breakfasts have recently been started; for these a halfpenny is charged,

except to those children who are on the free list. Till lately two

courses were supplied at dinner, but now usually only one is given. The

meals are served ordinarily in the schools, but in one or two places in

halls hired for the purpose. From reports that we have received the

arrangements seem to compare very favourably with those obtaining in

most English dining-centres. The teachers frequently take a great

interest in the question and supervise the meals. Some of the elder boys

and girls help to serve the food and wait on the children. The infants

are served at a separate table or, perhaps, in a separate room.

Attention is paid to cleanliness and tidiness, and the children's

manners are very good.

Provision is made not only for necessitous[558] children, but for those

who can pay part or the whole of the cost. Non-necessitous children may

obtain a dinner on payment of 2d., while the "semi-necessitous" may pay

1d. It is noteworthy that the number of free dinners is decreasing,

while the number of penny dinners is on the increase. Of the 413,000

meals supplied during 1912-13, nearly 50 per cent. were supplied to

"semi-necessitous" children on payment of 1d.; about 25 per cent. were

given free, the remaining 25 per cent. being supplied to children whose

parents were receiving relief from the Parish Council, children in

Higher Grade and Special Schools, and the elder girls who helped in

serving the meals.[559] The work of investigation has been greatly

reduced by the introduction of the penny dinner, and it has been

suggested that the provision of a halfpenny dinner would still further

diminish the need for free dinners, and consequently the need for

investigation.

Footnote 558:

There is no fixed scale in determining which children are necessitous,

but free meals are usually granted if the gross income of the

household is less than 3s. a head.

Footnote 559:

For the week ending December 19, 1913, the number of children fed

was:--

Necessitous 442

Paying children 1,389

Parish Council children 207

For many years before the School Board undertook the responsibility for

providing for its underfed children, the Parish Council was supplying

meals to the children of mothers who were receiving parish relief. The

Report of the Royal Commission on Physical Training in 1903 had drawn

attention to the question of underfeeding among children, and the Parish

Council determined to provide meals for the children for whose relief it

was responsible, in order to ensure that no complaint might be brought

against it.[560] Hot dinners were provided every day except Sunday.[561]

They were intended chiefly for children whose mothers were at work all

day, but tickets were also given in cases where an increase of relief

would not have benefited the children, or where the children had a

consumptive tendency.[562] The dinners were served in eating-houses

where "the conditions as to the serving of the meals, and the manners of

the children--entirely without supervision--" were "anything but

civilising."[563] When the School Board took over the general

arrangements for feeding, it seemed at first as if the Parish Council

would still continue its own methods, but the superiority of the Board's

scheme was soon apparent, and the Parish Council made an arrangement

with it by which children whose mothers were receiving relief would have

meals at school, the Council paying 1-1/2d. per meal to the School

Board.[564]

Footnote 560:

Evidence before the Royal Commission on the Poor Laws, 1909, Vol. VI.,

Qs. 61553-5.

Footnote 561:

_Ibid._, Q. 61371 (12).

Footnote 562:

_Ibid._, Q. 55247 (31).

Footnote 563:

Report of the Royal Commission on the Poor Laws, 1909, 8vo edition,

Vol. III., p. 148.

Footnote 564:

"Administrative problems arising out of Child Feeding," by J. A.

Young, in _Proceedings of the National Conference on the Prevention of

Destitution_, 1911, pp. 339-340.

In Glasgow, as in Edinburgh, the provision of meals was very early

undertaken by voluntary societies. As far back as 1869 the Glasgow Poor

Children's Dinner Table Society was founded,[565] and in 1875 another

philanthropic society established Day Refuges, which were intended

chiefly for children of widows or widowers who were at work all day, and

at which three meals were supplied daily.[566] The Poor Children's

Dinner Table Society continued to be the chief agency for supplying

meals till 1910, when voluntary contributions proved inadequate and the

School Board took over the provision of the meals. A central cooking

centre, with modern labour-saving appliances, was built, the food being

distributed to the different centres by motor waggon. The meals are

served either in the schools or in halls hired for the purpose. The

supervision is usually undertaken by the attendants; at some centres

assistance is given by members of the old dinner societies, but the

numbers are falling off. Only necessitous children are fed. Each case is

decided on its merits, but dinners are not usually granted if the family

income exceeds 3s. per head.[567] The children are selected by the

school doctors, nurses, attendance officers or teachers, and enquiries

are made by the attendance officers, immediate provision being made in

urgent cases. Boots and clothing, which up to 1912 were supplied by the

Poor Children's Clothing Scheme, are now provided by the School

Board.[568] In the special schools for the physically defective, dinner

is provided for practically all the children, and the parents pay. The

food is good in quality and served in an attractive manner, tablecloths

of some kind and flowers being provided. The supervision is undertaken

by the nurses and teachers.

Footnote 565:

Report of Select Committee on Education (Provision of Meals) Bills

(England and Scotland), 1906, Qs. 3075-8.

Footnote 566:

Evidence before the Royal Commission on the Poor Laws, 1909, Vol. VI.,

Q. 59728 (18); Report of London School Board on Underfed Children

attending School, 1899, p. 253.

Footnote 567:

See Dundee School Board, Report on the Feeding of School Children,

1913, p. 31.

Footnote 568:

Report of Glasgow School Board for 1911-12, p. 13.

Perth was one of the earliest School Boards to use its powers under the

Act of 1908 and to provide food and clothing out of the rates, the

system being begun in 1909. A Care Committee was appointed in 1911 to

assist the School Board in looking after the welfare of the children and

to take part in the distribution of the meals; the members visit the

homes, but apparently have no voice in the selection of the

children.[569] The dinners are mostly served in a Church Hall and are

supervised by the Care Committee and members of the School Board. Most

of the dinners are supplied free, only a small proportion being paid

for.[570] In the matter of boots, if a child is found improperly shod, a

notice is sent by the Board to the parents. If they do not provide boots

themselves, the Board supplies them and calls upon the parents to

pay[571]; about two-thirds of the money thus spent is recovered from the

parents.[572]

Footnote 569:

Report of Chief Inspector for Southern Division for 1912, pp. 11-12.

Footnote 570:

Perth School Board, Officers' Report on the supplying of Meals and

Boots to School Children, 1912-13, pp. 1-3.

Footnote 571:

Report of Chief Inspector for Southern Division for 1912, p. 12.

Footnote 572:

Perth School Board, Officers' Report, 1912-13, p. 4.

In most towns, as we have said, the cost of the food is still borne out

of voluntary funds, whether the School Board itself undertakes the

provision of meals, or whether this is done by a voluntary society.

In Dundee provision has been made by "The Free and Assisted Dinner Fund"

since the winter of 1884-5.[573] The meals are given usually in the

schools, but sometimes in coffee houses. The prevailing menu appears to

be soup. In view of the large number of married women who are

industrially employed at Dundee, the school meal is a great convenience.

A large proportion of the children, something like two-thirds in fact,

make some payment towards the meal.[574] But the price charged is very

low; a single bowl of soup costs a halfpenny, while the payment of a

penny a week secures a bowl daily.[575] At Paisley also a large

proportion of the children pay. Soup and bread, or, if the children

prefer, cocoa and bread, etc., is provided for the sum of one halfpenny,

the poorest children receiving it free. The balance of expenditure on

food is met from voluntary funds; the School Board pays all expenses of

administration.[576] In Aberdeen the work of providing meals, which had

formerly been undertaken by the Aberdeen Educational Trust, was

transferred in 1909 to the School Board, together with the income which

the Trust had devoted to this purpose.[577] At Greenock the School Board

have raised a voluntary fund for the provision of books, boots or food

for necessitous children, but it has not been found necessary to supply

any meals within the last two years. In Inverness provision is made by a

voluntary organisation, the children being sent to local eating-houses.

Footnote 573:

Dundee School Board, Report on the Feeding of School Children, 1913,

p. 11.

Footnote 574:

_Ibid._, p. 15.

Footnote 575:

_Ibid._, pp. 13-14.

Footnote 576:

In the special schools for defective children at Paisley a two-course

dinner is provided at a charge of 8d. a week.

Footnote 577:

Report of Chief Inspector for the Northern Division for 1911, p. 24.

Turning now to the rural districts, we may mention an early experiment

somewhat similar to that at Rousdon, to which we have already referred.

In 1878 the minister of the small country parish of Farnell came to the

conclusion that the attendance at school would be more regular, and the

children would derive more profit from the education given if a hot

midday meal were provided. Accordingly a soup kitchen was instituted at

the school, the plant being provided by voluntary contributions. A

charge was made of a halfpenny per meal or 1d. per family, where there

were more than two children. Practically all the children availed

themselves of the provision. The effects were soon visible, not only in

improved attendance--the grant earned rose from £89 in 1878 to £99 in

1883--but in greater immunity from epidemics and illness than in

neighbouring schools, and in the greater buoyancy of spirits of the

children.[578]

Footnote 578:

"Can a sufficient mid-day meal be given to poor school children ...

for ... less than one penny?" by Sir Henry Peek, 1883, p. 13.

In this matter of providing a midday meal for the children attending

rural schools, Scotland would appear to be, on the whole, in advance of

England, though the extent of the provision made varies considerably in

different districts. Thus, in the Border Counties, very few schools make

any arrangements,[579] while in Fifeshire, where the Inspector "has

consistently pressed upon managers" the necessity for providing dinners,

the attitude of most of the rural Boards is one of "stolid apathy."[580]

In Aberdeenshire, on the other hand, a cup of cocoa or a plate of soup

is provided in most of the country schools,[581] and in the county of

Inverness almost all the schools provide some sort of hot liquid.[582]

In Kincardineshire it was reported in 1906 that the soup kitchen was a

"universal institution."[583] The meals may be paid for by the children,

these payments being supplemented by voluntary contributions in money or

in kind.

Footnote 579:

Report of Chief Inspector for the Southern Division for 1911, p. 27.

Footnote 580:

_Ibid._, pp. 27-8.

Footnote 581:

First Report on Medical Inspection of School Children in Scotland, by

Dr. Leslie Mackenzie, 1913, p. 51.

Footnote 582:

"The Diet of Country Elementary School Children," by Dr. Gordon A.

Lang, in _Rearing an Imperial Race_, edited by C. E. Hecht, 1913, p.

116.

Footnote 583:

Report of Chief Inspector for Northern Division for 1906.

But even where it is the rule to find cocoa or soup supplied, it is

inadequate for the wants of many of the children, who require a more

substantial and nourishing midday meal. Moreover, the provision appears

as a rule to be confined to the winter months, a limitation patently

absurd, since the _raison d'être_ of the meals is not so much the

poverty of the parents, a condition which may fluctuate according to the

seasons, but the fact that the distances are, in many cases, too great

to allow the children time to return home at midday--which condition is,

of course, constant the whole year round.

APPENDIX III

THE PROVISION OF MEALS ABROAD

We have not been able to make any original enquiry into the systems of

school feeding existing in other countries. The following history of the

"Cantines Scolaires" in Paris and brief notes as to the provision made

in other foreign towns may, however, be useful for purposes of

reference, and as showing how widespread has been the movement for the

feeding of school children. The information as to foreign towns other

than Paris is derived mainly from _Prize Essays on Feeding School

Children_, 1890; _Report of London School Board on Underfed Children

attending School_, 1899, Appendix ix., pp. 255-272; _Feeding of School

Children in Continental and American Cities_ (Cd. 2926), 1906; _The Free

Feeding of School Children_, a reprint of the reports by the Special

Sanitary Commissioner of the _Lancet_, 2nd edition, 1907; while fuller

and more recent information is to be found in _School Feeding, its

Practice at Home and Abroad_, by Louise S. Bryant, 1913.

(a) France

(i) The Cantines Scolaires in Paris

Paris has long offered to other cities an inspiring example of an

efficient and uniform system for feeding poor school children. She was

the first to make systematic provision on a large scale. She had a basis

of organisation ready to her hand in the _Caisses des Ecoles_. These

bodies correspond in some degree to the English Care Committees, though

with a far wider sphere of action. The original object of these school

funds was to encourage school attendance by rewards to industrious

pupils and help to the needy. The first _Caisse_ was established in 1849

by the National Guard in the second _arrondissement_, and gradually the

system spread. In 1867 a law was passed encouraging the formation of

_Caisses_ in every _commune_, and directing that their revenues were to

consist of voluntary subscriptions and subventions by the commune,

department or state.[584] This law was merely permissive, but in 1882,

by the Compulsory Education Law, the establishment of these

organisations was made obligatory.[585] A _Caisse_ was accordingly set

up in each of the twenty _arrondissements_ of Paris. Attendance at

school being now compulsory, and it being therefore no longer so

necessary to provide incentives to attendance, the _Caisses_, though

they still continued to grant prizes, turned their attention more and

more to the physical needs of the children, boots, clothing, food,

country holidays and, later, crèches, Savings Banks, skilled

apprenticeship and medical treatment. The _Caisse_ was a voluntary body,

but was officially recognised by the municipality. The General Committee

was composed of the Mayor, the members of the Municipal Council, and the

school inspector for the district, together with from twenty to

twenty-four persons elected by the subscribers.[586]

Footnote 584:

"The Free Feeding of School Children," a reprint of the reports by the

Special Sanitary Commissioner of the _Lancet_, 2nd edition, 1907, p.

Footnote 585:

_Ibid._, p. 8.

Footnote 586:

_Ibid._, p. 9.

As in other towns, the early attempts at feeding poor school children

were due to private initiative; meals were provided by the _Caisses des

Ecoles_ or other voluntary associations or by philanthropic individuals.

These attempts were unco-ordinated and inadequate to deal with the evil

of underfeeding. In 1879 the Municipal Council made an enquiry into the

whole question. As a result a scheme was drawn up to place the work on a

more satisfactory and uniform basis under public control. The provision

of meals was entrusted in each _arrondissement_ to the _Caisses des

Ecoles_, and a grant of 480,000 francs was voted by the Municipal

Council to aid them in this work.[587]

Footnote 587:

"The Cantines Scolaires of Paris," by Sir Charles A. Elliott, in the

_Nineteenth Century_, May, 1906, pp. 834-5.

It is interesting to note that it was seriously considered whether the

meals should not be supplied free for all children attending the

schools. The Council, however, came to the conclusion that, "in freeing

the parents of all responsibility with regard to their children, and in

accustoming them to evade their duties, they would be running the risk

of weakening the family spirit, to the great detriment of the morality

both of the children and of the parents."[588] It was, therefore,

decided that free provision should be limited to necessitous children.

At the same time it would be difficult to exclude children who were

willing to pay for their meals, hence provision should be made for these

too.

Footnote 588:

"Organisation des Cantines Scolaires à Paris," a manifold manuscript

report issued by the Direction de l'Enseignement primaire, 3me bureau,

1912.

The voluntary subscriptions which had supported the work before 1880

continued in theory to be the chief resource of the new _Cantines

Scolaires_. These voluntary subscriptions rapidly decreased, being

either withdrawn altogether or diverted to the other objects of the

_Caisses_. At the same time both the number of meals provided and the

proportion of free meals increased no less markedly. In 1880, the first

year in which meals were provided under the new system, only 33 per

cent. of the meals were supplied free (the remainder being paid for by

the parents); in 1898 this proportion had nearly doubled, being 63 per

cent. The municipal subsidy rose correspondingly, and in 1899 amounted

to 1,017,000 francs. The Council took fright and appointed a Commission

to consider the question, with the result that the grant was restricted

to 1,000,000 francs.[589] This limit has been fairly strictly adhered

to, for the grant amounts now to only 1,050,000 francs, though the

proportion of free meals has continued slowly to increase.[590]

Footnote 589:

"The Cantines Scolaires of Paris," by Sir Charles Elliott, in the

_Nineteenth Century_, May, 1906, pp. 835-6.

Footnote 590:

According to the latest figures 70 per cent. of the children for whom

meals are provided receive them free.

Each _Caisse_ is allowed a free hand in the actual details of

administration, hence the arrangements vary in the different

_arrondissements_. The want of uniformity has obvious disadvantages, and

a proposal was recently made that the system should be centralised, but

this would have necessitated the appointment of a large and expensive

staff, and it was felt desirable to leave the initiative and

responsibility to voluntary workers.[591] Everywhere the meal is served

on the school premises, a kitchen being established for each school or

group of schools. The meal is cooked by the _cantinières_, and is

sometimes provided by them at a fixed price per head; more often the

_Caisse_ prefers to purchase the materials itself, a more economical

method, and one which ensures a better quality of food.[592] The dinner

may consist of one, two or three courses. The food is plentiful and

good, well-cooked and well-served, and the menu sufficiently varied. The

meals are made as attractive as possible to encourage the better-class

parents to make use of them. The price charged varies from 1d. to 2d.;

in almost all the _arrondissements_ the charge appears to be below the

cost price. No difference is made between the children who pay and those

who are on the free list. The teachers do not assist in serving the

food, as in England, but are always present to supervise the children,

and, in some schools at any rate, they eat their dinner with them. At

first the supervision was undertaken voluntarily, but since 1910 the

teachers have received an extra remuneration of 1·50 francs a day for

this duty.[593] This sharing in a common meal by all classes alike,

together with the presence of the teacher, has had a marked influence on

the children's manners. Besides the mid-day meal, which is given by all

the _Caisses_, breakfasts of soup are sometimes supplied to the children

who are receiving free dinners, while in some _arrondissements_, _e.g._,

the eighteenth, a small meal is also given at four o'clock to these

children if they remain at school for the "classe de garde."[594] A

further extension has recently been made in the seventeenth

_arrondissement_, where it was decided in 1912 to try the experiment of

a "classe de garde" till eight o'clock in the evening, with a supper,

for children of widows or widowers who were at work till late, or for

other especially poor children, or children with bad homes, the object

being both to secure them adequate nourishment and to remove them from

the temptations of the streets. For this purpose the Municipal Council

voted a sum of 10,000 francs.[595] Weakly children have codliver oil

given to them in winter and syrup of iodide of iron or phosphate of lime

in the summer.

Footnote 591:

"Organisation des Cantines Scolaires à Paris," report by Direction de

l'Enseignement primaire, 3me bureau, 1912.

Footnote 592:

_Ibid._

Footnote 593:

_Ibid._

Footnote 594:

"Caisse des écoles du 18e arrondissement," Exercice de l'année 1911,

p. 34.

Footnote 595:

Proposition tendant à l'ouverture d'un crédit de 10,000 francs en vue

de permettre à la Caisse des Ecoles du XVIIe arrondissement

d'organiser, à titre d'essai, une classe de garde prolongée jusqu'à

huit heures et une cantine du soir, déposée par M. Frédéric Brunet,

conseiller municipal, Septembre 19, 1912.

The methods of enquiry vary in the different _arrondissements_. Usually

the enquiries are made by a paid investigator, but the numbers of

children on the free list are so large that the investigation is as a

rule very superficial. The necessity of keeping secret the fact that a

child is receiving the meals free also militates against any effective

enquiry into the parents' circumstances. The meals are granted for a

school year, hence it frequently happens that a child continues to

receive them long after the need has passed away.[596] The enquiries

are, as might be expected, the least satisfactory part of the Paris

system. In granting the meals the _Caisses_ usually take a generous

view; it is held, for instance, that a man earning up to 30s. a week

cannot adequately feed and clothe more than three children, and if his

family is larger than this the _Caisses_ are prepared to assist him;

while widows' children are invariably fed if application is made.[597]

Footnote 596:

"Organisation des Cantines Scolaires à Paris," report issued by

Direction de l'Enseignement primaire, 3me bureau, 1912; "Necessitous

Children in Paris and London," by George Rainey, in _School Hygiene_,

November, 1912, Vol. III., p. 198.

Footnote 597:

_Ibid._, p. 198.

An interesting feature of the Paris system is the provision of clothes.

The municipality insists that the children shall come to school properly

clothed; it is ready to provide the requisite garments, but it insists

that they shall be kept clean and tidy. Frequent inspections are made

for this purpose. The result is a notable raising of the level of

cleanliness and tidiness in the schools, both the parents and the

children themselves learning to take a pride in their appearance.[598]

So far, indeed, from the work of the _Caisses_ having undermined

parental responsibility, it would appear that the reverse is the case,

the parents responding to the higher standard demanded of them.

Footnote 598:

_Ibid._, pp. 198, 200.

What strikes one in comparing the Paris system with that obtaining in

English towns is the thoroughness with which the problem is tackled in

Paris and the widespread interest taken by the citizens generally in the

work of the _Caisses_. No half measures content them. From the first the

work has been educational, the primary object of the _Caisses_ being to

encourage school attendance rather than to relieve distress. The

educational progress of the children, the improvement in their physique,

the raising of the standard of manners and cleanliness, all show that

the results have amply justified the expenditure.[599]

Footnote 599:

For the above description, see, besides the references already quoted,

Report of London School Board on Underfed Children attending School,

1899, Appendix IX., pp. 262-5; "The Cantines Scolaires of Paris," by

Marcel Kleine, in _Report of Proceedings of the International Congress

for the Welfare and Protection of Children_, 1906, pp. 65-82; "Feeding

School Children: The Experience of France," in the _Manchester

Guardian_, February 22, 1906; "Children's Care Committees in Paris,"

in the _Morning Post_, March 19, 1909; "School Canteens in Paris," by

Miss M. M. Boldero, in the _School Child_, July, 1910; _School

Feeding, its History and Practice at Home and Abroad_, by Louise

Stevens Bryant, 1913, pp. 77-93; Conseil Municipal de Paris, Procès

Verbal, June 25, 1909, December 31, 1909, March 23, 1910.

(ii) Provision in other French Towns.

Paris was not the first municipality in France to interest itself in the

provision of school meals. The pioneer town in this respect seems to

have been Angers, where as early as 1871 the Société de Fourneau des

Ecoles Laïques was founded with the support of the municipality, to

provide hot dinners, either free or at a cost of 10 centimes, during the

winter.[600] Towards the close of the nineteenth century many

municipalities were providing meals, either directly or indirectly

through voluntary organisations.

Footnote 600:

_School Feeding_, by Louise S. Bryant, 1913, pp. 93-94.

Thus at Havre, in 1898, the municipality was making a grant of £500 to a

voluntary society; meals were provided for 10 centimes, or were given

free in cases of poverty; about five-eighths of the children who

attended paid for the meals.[601]

Footnote 601:

London School Board, Report on Underfed Children attending School,

1899, p. 265.

At Marseilles Cantines Scolaires were organised by the municipality in

1893. Prior to this date meals had been provided in some three or four

schools, but only in a haphazard manner by voluntary agencies. By the

bye-law of 1893 a committee of twenty-two was to be appointed by the

Mayor, and presided over by him or his representative; this committee

was to investigate the demands made for free meals. In 1905 about 8 per

cent. of the children in the communal schools were dining at school,

about half this number paying for the meal; in the infant schools the

proportion fed was much greater, viz., 18 per cent., while only about

one-sixth of the parents paid. As in Paris, no distinction was made

between the paying and the non-paying children. Dinner tickets could be

bought at all the police stations; if the parents wished to receive the

meals free, they had to make application personally or by letter to the

education department; if on investigation they proved to be unable to

pay, the municipality provided them with tickets.[602]

Footnote 602:

_Lancet_ Reports, 1907, pp. 50-56.

At Nice also Cantines Scolaires were established by the municipality

about 1896. Here the object was not so much to feed starving children as

to provide a suitable meal for children who came such distances that

they were unable to return home at mid-day. The municipality built

kitchens, provided all the necessary apparatus, and paid the salaries of

the cooks. A penny was charged for a dinner of soup, the meal being

given free to those who could not afford to pay. Any deficit was

supplied by voluntary subscriptions. In the infant schools, on the other

hand, the municipality assumed the entire responsibility, and a hot meal

was provided for all the children without payment.[603]

Footnote 603:

_Ibid._, pp. 41-43.

By 1909 Cantines Scolaires of one kind or another had been very

generally established. It appeared that at this date something like

three-fifths were supported entirely by public funds, the remainder

being so supported indirectly and partially. In many towns where regular

cantines had not been instituted, the teachers or janitors served warm

soup to the children at a nominal sum. In country districts or smaller

towns, the children would bring the raw material for soup and the

teacher would prepare it; the children would also bring their own bread,

and sometimes wine and cake. Whether any organised provision was made or

not, the great majority of the schools everywhere had a stove on which

the children could warm any food they brought with them.[604]

Footnote 604:

_School Feeding_ by Louise S. Bryant, 1913, pp. 80, 94-97.

(b) Switzerland

Switzerland was one of the first countries in which provision for

necessitous school children became the subject of national legislation.

The question early attracted attention. The long distances which many of

the children had to walk to school rendered the provision of a mid-day

meal of the greatest importance, while clothing and especially boots

were little less necessary. After 1890 the system of providing food and

clothing was greatly extended. The provision was everywhere made by

voluntary societies, but assistance was given from the cantonal and

communal funds. The cantonal contribution was derived chiefly from the

alcohol monopoly profits and was devoted to this provision for the

children's wants on the theory that their misery was in most cases the

direct result of parental insobriety![605] This method of administration

by voluntary societies, subsidised but not controlled by the municipal

authorities, proved most extravagant, and led to much abuse, while it

aroused sectarian jealousies. The municipalities began, consequently, to

take over the direct management of the school meals.[606] In 1903 the

Federal Government issued an order making it _obligatory_ for cantons to

supply food and clothing to necessitous children in the public

elementary schools. Three years later it authorised the use of state

funds for this purpose, on the understanding that in no case should the

cantonal or city support be lessened because of this federal

support.[607]

Footnote 605:

Report of London School Board on Underfed Children attending School,

1899, pp. 271-2.

Footnote 606:

_The Bitter Cry of the Children_, by John Spargo, 1906, p. 277.

Footnote 607:

_School Feeding_, by Louise S. Bryant, 1913, p. 133.

As in other countries, the early attempts at school feeding in Italy

were made by voluntary agencies. In many towns, towards the close of the

nineteenth century, Committees of Assistance and Benevolent Funds were

instituted to assist poor pupils in the elementary schools, chiefly in

the matter of books and clothing, but in several communes of Lombardy

and Romagna meals were also given. A small grant, which in 1897 was

raised to 120,000 francs (£4,800), was made by the Department of Public

Instruction to the school authorities in the large cities, and

especially Rome, who provided a mid-day meal for their children.[608]

Footnote 608:

Report of London School Board on Underfed Children attending School,

1899, p. 267.

The first town in which the municipality undertook the provision of

meals was San Remo, in 1896. This policy was inaugurated by the

Socialist Council. It was temporarily abandoned in 1898, when a

Conservative Council was appointed who preferred the subsidising of

voluntary agencies to direct municipal action, but was re-introduced on

the return of the Socialists to power some four years later.[609]

Footnote 609:

_Lancet_ Reports, 1907, pp. 31, 33.

In Milan an agitation for the provision of meals was set on foot in the

last decade of the nineteenth century. The municipal authority declined

to undertake the work themselves, but advocated the formation of

charitable committees to raise subscriptions for the purpose, offering

to supplement these voluntary funds with a municipal subvention. This

grant amounted in 1897 to about £400.[610] It was soon found that this

system did not work satisfactorily, and the municipality was obliged,

though somewhat reluctantly, to assume the responsibility.[611]

Footnote 610:

Minutes of London School Board, May 26, 1898, Vol. 48, p. 1810.

Footnote 611:

_Lancet_ Reports, 1907, p. 20.

But it is in the small rural town of Vercelli that we find the most

remarkable experiment.[612] Here for some years a charitable committee

had been providing meals for children who lived too far from school to

go home at mid-day, and the municipality had granted a small subsidy,

but it was felt that this provision was entirely inadequate. In 1900 it

was decided to provide a meal for all the children attending the

elementary schools. The object was not the relief of distress but

education in its fullest sense, as distinct from mere instruction. It

was argued that the mid-day recess furnished an opportunity for moral

education which could not be imparted in the class-room. The teachers

would be brought into more intimate relation with the children, while

the joining of richer and poorer alike in the common meal and in

recreation afterwards would instil sentiments of brotherhood. The meal

was to be free to all and attendance compulsory, for rich and poor were

to be treated exactly alike. With the same object of preventing class

distinctions, clothes were supplied for the poorer children, the

municipality providing the material which was worked into garments by

the sewing classes. The teachers were to have the same food, though they

were allowed a double quantity, and were to eat it with the children.

For this extra duty of supervising both the meals and recreation they

only received an additional £2 a year. Since the moral rather than the

physical welfare of the child was the primary consideration, too little

attention was paid to the actual food that was given. The parents, it

was argued, could in the great majority of cases amply feed their

children at home, hence all that was needed was to supply sufficient

food to compensate for the waste of energy during the two and a half

hours of morning school. A cold meal of bread and sausage or cheese was

given. This did not satisfy the more prosperous children, who would have

preferred to pay for a hot meal, and some 10 per cent. of the children,

chiefly the richer ones, obtained a medical certificate exempting them

from attendance. Nor was the meal sufficient for the poorest children

who were suffering from lack of food. To provide a really adequate meal

free for all would have been too expensive an undertaking. Accordingly,

after some six years, the general free provision was abandoned. Instead,

hot soup was provided, which was given free to the poorest children, any

others who wished being allowed to receive it on payment of 1·50 lire a

month.[613]

Footnote 612:

[Footnote 5: For the following account, see _Lancet_ Reports, pp.

24-30. It is interesting to note that this scheme for making universal

provision was introduced by the Conservative party.]

Footnote 613:

_School Feeding_, by Louise S. Bryant, 1913, p. 141; Il Patronato

Scolastico Umberto 1° in Vercelli e la sua Opera al 31 Dicembre, 1912,

pp. 5, 6.

The "School Restaurant" seems to have been established in Italy to a

greater extent than in any other country. A very large proportion of the

children attend, and a great number of these pay for the meals. In

1908-9 it was found that in forty-three cities the average attendance

amounted to 37 per cent. of the total school population; while in

several towns the attendance rose to over 70 per cent.[614]

Footnote 614:

[Footnote 2: _Ibid._, p. 140.]

(d) Germany

In Germany little attention appears to have been paid to the question of

feeding school children, apart from their parents, till the closing

years of the nineteenth century.[615] In some of the large towns, at any

rate, the arrangements that were made were quite inadequate. In Berlin,

for instance, there was in 1890 no society whose chief object was the

provision of school meals. A society which provided food for the poor

generally had a branch which devoted special attention to the needs of

school children, and gave a small sum, generally only 15s. or 20s. a

year, to the committee of each parish school, to be used at the

headmaster's discretion. Generally milk and bread were given in the

headmaster's house.[616] About 1890 the subject began to attract more

attention, especially in connection with the vacation colonies for

school children; it was found that the children who were sent to these

colonies, on returning to their homes, lost the benefit they had gained,

owing to lack of food. On an attempt being made to continue the work of

the colonies by feeding some of the children, it was found that

thousands of others were also underfed.[617] In 1897 a Bill was

introduced in the Reichstag by the Social Democrats to make provision

for school meals in the cities. The Bill was defeated on the ground that

it would increase the migration to the cities from the rural

districts.[618] Some ten years later the agitation for national

legislation was renewed, as a result of the discovery that from 44 to 46

per cent. of the conscripts for the Imperial Army were rejected on

account of physical unfitness.[619]

Footnote 615:

"Prize Essays on Feeding School Children," 1890, pp. 65, 212-4.

Footnote 616:

_Ibid._, p. 65.

Footnote 617:

_School Feeding_, by Louise S. Bryant, 1913, pp. 17-18, 104.

Footnote 618:

_Ibid._, pp. 18, 105.

Footnote 619:

_Ibid._, pp. 99, 106.

In 1909 it was found that out of 189 cities from which information was

obtained, in 78 meals were being provided by voluntary societies,

without any subsidy from, or control by, the municipal authorities,

though these latter usually co-operated in the supervision and service,

and often supplied rooms, gas and cooking free; in 68 cities, meals were

provided by voluntary organisations, but the city governments

subsidised, and usually exercised some control over, their work; while

in 43 cities the provision of meals was undertaken entirely by the

municipality.[620]

Footnote 620:

_Ibid._, pp. 114-5.

(e) Austria

In Austria school meals are provided in most of the large towns.

In Vienna the Central Association for feeding necessitous school

children was founded in 1887, with the help and approval of the

municipality, the Mayor acting as President and the Municipal Council

being represented on its Administrative Council. Meals were given from

November to April, occasionally at the schools, but more often in

restaurants. All the meals were supplied free. The children were

selected by the School Managers and the headmaster, and enquiry was made

by Local Committees with the help of voluntary workers. The teachers

supervised the meals.[621] In 1888-9, the Municipal Council made a grant

to this society towards the provision of food;[622] by 1896 this

municipal subsidy amounted to 50,000 frs. (£2,000), while 52,500 frs.

were granted for the supply of clothing.[623] In 1906 the food subsidy

had risen to £3,350.[624] The provision made was, however, inadequate.

Meals were only given during the winter, and were not obtained by all

the children who needed them. It was felt that the city ought to assume

direct control. In 1909 kitchens and dining-rooms were built in four new

public schools.[625]

Footnote 621:

"Prize Essays on Feeding School Children," 1890, pp. 66-70, 181-7,

197-8.

Footnote 622:

_Ibid._, pp. 138, 198.

Footnote 623:

London School Board, Report on Underfed Children attending School,

1899, pp. 258, 260-261.

Footnote 624:

_Feeding of School Children in Continental and American Cities_, 1906,

p. 6.

Footnote 625:

_School Feeding_, by Louise S. Bryant, 1913, p. 143.

(f) Belgium

In most of the Belgian towns in the last decade of the nineteenth

century voluntary organisations were to be found whose object was to

provide food and clothing for poor school children. This provision was

made to enable them to attend school instead of begging in the streets,

since education was not compulsory.[626] In Brussels the chief society

was "Le Progrès" Club, which in 1888 commenced the provision of soup

dinners in the schools. The Town Council assisted by providing tables

and undertaking the carriage of the food to the different centres, and

in 1891 by granting a subsidy of 5,000 frs. An application was very soon

made for an increase of this subsidy, whereupon the municipality

undertook a detailed enquiry into the whole question of the food,

clothing, lodging, cleanliness and health of the children in the

communal schools. It was found as a result that 16·89 per cent. were

badly shod, 25·04 per cent. badly clothed, and 25·55 per cent.

insufficiently fed.[627] The work of medical inspection and treatment

was very early undertaken by the local authority. At the date of this

report (1894), a doctor and dentist were attached to each school;

frequent inspections were made by the doctor, and preventive medicine,

_e.g._, codliver oil, was provided from public funds.[628] The provision

of meals continued to be undertaken by voluntary organisations, aided by

a municipal subsidy. In 1903-04, this subsidy amounted to 10,000 frs.

for the communal schools, and 5,000 frs. for the clerical schools. In

addition large quantities of clothing were supplied from public

funds.[629]

Footnote 626:

London School Board, Report on Underfed Children attending School,

1899, p. 256.

Footnote 627:

_Ibid._, p. 255; Board of Education, Reports on Educational Subjects,

Vol. II., 1898, p. 682.

Footnote 628:

London School Board, Report on Underfed Children attending School,

1899, p. 256.

Footnote 629:

_Lancet_ Reports, 1907, pp. 14-15.

At Liège, as early as 1883, the municipality organised the provision of

soup for all children in the kindergartens who wished to receive

it.[630] The dinner was only given on condition that the children were

clean and tidy. Each child was expected to have clean linen twice a week

and also to have a pocket handkerchief. A teacher was present to

supervise the children, and share the meal with them. Each child brought

a basket of bread and fruit to supplement the food provided, and at the

end any bread that remained was packed in the baskets by the children,

to prevent waste and to inculcate habits of thrift.[631] The whole cost

was borne out of municipal funds. In 1901 a voluntary committee was

formed for providing soup in the communal primary schools. This

committee placed at the disposal of the municipality a sum of 10,000

frs., in order that general provision might be made for the first year's

scholars in the primary schools, on the same lines as in the

kindergartens. In other classes in the primary schools soup was given

only to necessitous children, or to those whose parents were at work all

day; this provision was at first limited to three months during the

winter, but in 1905 the municipality voted a grant of 7,000 frs. in

order that it might be extended to six months.[632]

Footnote 630:

_Feeding of School Children in Continental and American Cities_, 1906,

p. 2; London School Board, Report on Underfed Children attending

School, 1899, pp. 259, 260-1.

Footnote 631:

"Prize Essays on Feeding School Children," 1890, pp. 204-5.

Footnote 632:

_Feeding of School Children in Continental and American Cities_, 1906,

pp. 2, 4, 6.

(g) Holland

Holland was the first country to enact national legislation for the

provision of school meals. The law of 1900 enforcing compulsory

education authorised municipal authorities to provide food and clothing

for all school children, whether in public or private schools, who,

owing to lack of these necessaries, were unable to attend school

regularly. This provision might be undertaken directly by the

municipality, or by means of subsidies to voluntary organisations.[633]

Footnote 633:

_School Feeding_, by Louise S. Bryant, 1913, p. 130.

(h) Denmark

In some of the cities of Denmark meals were provided by voluntary

agencies in the 'seventies. In 1902 a law was passed allowing municipal

authorities to subsidise these organisations. This system, however,

proved unsatisfactory and, in 1907, a campaign was set on foot for

compulsory national legislation.[634]

Footnote 634:

_School Feeding_, by Louise S. Bryant, 1913, p. 146.

In Copenhagen the municipality from 1902 made a grant of 25,000 kr.

(about £1,400) to the "Society for Providing Meals to Free School

Children," the voluntary contributions to which were rapidly

diminishing. This society, though a voluntary organisation, was directly

connected with the municipality, its Executive Board consisting of the

seven municipal school inspectors and four private gentlemen, while the

municipal school director was _ex officio_ president. More than half the

total expenditure was met out of the municipal subsidy, the balance

being made up by voluntary contributions. Dinners were given three days

a week to all the children in the free schools who wished to attend. No

charge was made and no question raised as to the economic circumstances

of the parents. About 33 per cent. of the total number of free school

children availed themselves of this provision.[635]

Footnote 635:

_The Feeding of School Children in Continental and American Cities_,

1906, pp. 3, 5, 7.

(i) Norway

Christiania was the first town in Norway to make municipal provision for

underfed school children. The system was started in 1897. A proposal was

made to distribute food free to all elementary school children, but this

was, at the time, rejected. In the winter of 1897-8, applications were

made on behalf of 25.92 per cent. of the pupils in the school, the great

majority of the meals being given free.[636] The children made such

marked progress as a result of this experiment that the system was

extended and in Christiania and several other towns a good dinner was

provided by the school authorities for all school children who cared to

attend, the entire cost of the system being met by taxation.[637] It was

soon found that the advantages of this free provision outweighed the

expense. At Trondhjem, when the proposal was first made by the

Socialists, it was bitterly opposed, but by 1906 the system was

unanimously supported by all sections.[638]

Footnote 636:

London School Board, Report on Underfed Children attending School,

1899, p. 268; _School Feeding_, by Louise S. Bryant, 1913, p. 145.

Footnote 637:

_The Bitter Cry of the Children_, by John Spargo, 1906, pp. 114-115,

275.

Footnote 638:

_Ibid._, p. 276.

(j) Sweden

In many towns in Sweden schemes for feeding poor school children were

started in the 'eighties, these voluntary schemes being later subsidised

by the local authorities.[639]

Footnote 639:

_School Feeding_, by Louise S. Bryant, 1913, pp. 143-4.

In Stockholm several voluntary organisations were formed for supplying

meals, the provision being usually limited to necessitous children. In

order to preserve the self-respect of the children and parents, some of

these societies adopted the plan of allowing the children to contribute

to the expense of the dinner by performing some manual work, the making

of baskets (which were sold), the mending of clothes, the sweeping out

of the rooms, etc.[640] Towards the close of the nineteenth century the

School Boards of the several parishes resolved to build kitchens at the

schools. The kitchens generally contained several fireplaces, at each of

which dinners for a certain number of children were prepared by the

elder girls.[641] Each child only received a dinner three times a week.

Footnote 640:

"Prize Essays on Feeding School Children," 1890, pp. 71-75.

Footnote 641:

London School Board, Report on Underfed Children attending School,

1899, pp. 270-271.

At Jönköping the free distribution of meals dates from 1887. The funds,

which were derived from voluntary contributions and proceeds of

concerts, were administered by the Board School Inspector, and the

distribution of the food was supervised by the School Board. The

children were usually sent for dinner to the houses of private ladies

who undertook the catering.[642] The poorest children were fed twice a

week, those who were rather less poor only once.

Footnote 642:

_Ibid._, p. 270.

At Gothenburg, besides the provision made by voluntary agencies, the

Board of Education distributed bread to certain children who were

selected by the School Board.[643]

Footnote 643:

_Ibid._, p. 269.

(k) United States of America

In America[644] the movement for the feeding of school children is of

comparatively recent date. It is true that in the numerous Day

Industrial Schools which were instituted in the nineteenth century by

voluntary organisations, _e.g._, by the Children's Aid Society, meals

were always given,[645] but it was not till 1904, when Mr. Robert Hunter

in his "Poverty" stated that probably 60,000 or 70,000 children in New

York City often arrived at school hungry and unfitted to do their school

work well,[646] that public attention was seriously directed to the

question of under-feeding among school children.

Footnote 644:

See for a full description of the provision made in America, _School

Feeding_, by Louise S. Bryant, 1913.

Footnote 645:

"Prize Essays on Feeding School Children," 1890, pp. 225-35.

Footnote 646:

_Poverty_, by Robert Hunter, 1904, p. 216.

In New York in 1908 a School Lunch Committee of physicians and social

workers was formed with the object of ascertaining if a three cent lunch

could be made self-supporting. This idea of making the meals

self-supporting seems to be characteristic of the provision made in most

of the American cities. Two schools were at first chosen, and the

experiment proved so successful that two years later the Board of

Education gave permission for lunches to be supplied in other schools.

The Board provided rooms, equipment and gas; the cost of the food and

service had to be met by the sale of tickets. The meals are served

sometimes in the basement in the schools, and there does not appear to

be always adequate accommodation. The meal itself is well cooked and

served, the elder children helping the staff. A physician draws up the

dietaries. These include one main dish such as soup, stew, rice pudding,

etc., costing the child about four cents. There are besides "extras,"

such as dessert, cakes or other delicacies, which may be bought for one

cent, but only by children who have had the main dish. The meals are not

quite self-supporting, as a small number are given free.[647]

Footnote 647:

_School Feeding_, by Louise S. Bryant, 1913, pp. 147-50.

In Philadelphia the Starr Center Association undertook school feeding in

some schools over fifteen years ago, but it is now managed by the Home

and School League. Several of the schools provide a meal, some at 10.30

a.m., others a fuller meal at midday. The cost is one cent for lunch and

three to five cents for dinner. There is one hot dish of soup or rice

pudding, etc., and the children may spend another cent on the "extra"

dainty. The meals are self-supporting. The teachers co-operate

enthusiastically, and sometimes eat with the children. The food is

served on japanned trays in enamel bowls and a paper napkin is provided.

The washing up is done by the children under supervision, and everything

is carefully sterilised. Both the superintendent, who is responsible for

planning the meals and purchasing the food materials, and the home

visitor are trained dietists.[648]

Footnote 648:

_Ibid._, pp. 151-164.

In Boston the Hygiene Committee of the Home and School Association began

to organise school dinners in 1909, at a school with a kitchen attached.

By 1911 meals were being supplied at twenty-two schools. Equipment was

given in the first place, and the meals are now self-supporting. In

schools where there is a kitchen, the cooking classes prepare and serve

the meals; here one cent amply covers the cost of the food. In other

schools outside help is hired, and an extra cent per meal ticket meets

this expense.[649]

Footnote 649:

_Ibid._, pp. 164-8.

Throughout the rest of the States the system is gaining ground. By 1912

some thirty cities had organised the provision of school meals, while in

at least twenty others the question was under consideration. Everywhere

this provision was made by voluntary organisations.[650] Public funds

could not be utilised, but there was growing anxiety that the question

should be made a national concern. The nearest approach to legislative

action was taken by Massachusetts, where in 1912 the Committee on

Education of the Lower House reported favourably a Bill to allow School

Boards to spend part of the school funds on the provision of meals.[651]

Footnote 650:

_Ibid._, p. 19.

Footnote 651:

_Ibid._, pp. 20, 182-3.

INDEX

Aberdeen, 246;

county of, 247

Acton, 68, 90, 104, 114, 234

After-care, 139, 140, 145, 227_n_

Alexandra Trust, 155, 157

Angers, 255

Anglesey, 125-6

Arkle, Dr., 171, 181-2

Aston Manor, 51_n_

Attendance, effect of meals on, 8, 123, 188, 195-6, 198-9, 246

Audit by Local Government Board, 56, 102, 103, 104-5

Austria, 262-3

Badger, Dr., 175, 176, 182

Barnett, Canon, 220

Barnsley, 54_n_, 55, 121_n_

Bedfordshire, 123_n_

Belgium, 263-5

Berlin, 261

Bermondsey, 210_n_, 211

Bethnal Green, 76_n_, 191-2

Birkenhead, 58_n_, 66_n_, 67, 68_n_, 69, 71_n_, 80, 83, 95-6, 120, 121

Birmingham, 12_n_, 13_n_, 19_n_, 35_n_, 36_n_, 42_n_, 43_n_, 44_n_, 64,

66, 67, 68, 71-2, 73, 86_n_, 101_n_, 109_n_, 210_n_, 211

Birrell, Mr., 46

Blackburn, 115, 179

Blake, Dr. Sophia Jex-, 8

Board of Education, xvi, 40, 48, 60, 91, 101, 106.

The Provision of Meals Act of 1906 applied only to England and Wales. As