Le choix du chef at the local three-star restaurant? Pas du tout! It is a school meal – typical of the fare that my children have eaten at their local schools over the years in the small town where we live in the south-west of France.One thing is certain, had they come home for their midday meal, I would not have been able to rustle up anything resembling what they are used to eating at school. Certainly not day in, day out. That is precisely the point that is made in the brochure Votre enfant mange à la cantine (Your child has school meals). This information booklet was produced on the initiative of the European Union with the support of a number of groups including parents’ associations who distributed it throughout schools in France. For my children, never a truer word was written when it argues that the midday meal at school is an excellent way for children to discover new tastes, spices and smells.

A Cultural Experience

The midday meal at school has been part of the whole cultural experience for my children living here in France. From nursery school onwards, they were served their meal course by course at the table and were encouraged to eat slowly in order to digest their food properly. They have always eaten with a napkin and have only drunk water so as to really savour the taste of their meal. Since even the young children at each table were left to toss their own bowl of green salad, my sons learnt how to do this, as well as adopting the French habit of eating the cheese before the dessert instead of after it. Thanks to dishes that they have enjoyed at school, I have cooked things that I would never have dreamed of cooking before – rabbit, wild boar, lamb’s heart, and asparagus. And as for artichoke, they not only encouraged me to cook them, but also showed me how to dip the leaves in its dressing and suck the flesh off! They have learnt that many foods have their seasons and traditions. Above all, they appreciate how meal time is a social occasion for the French – an opportunity for talking about what they are eating at the very least!

A Point Of Discussion

Given the importance of food and eating to the French, it comes as no surprise to me that most of the parents’ meetings I have ever attended at my children’s schools – from their first maternelle right through to their lycée – have spent time poring over this one subject. I have sat through lengthy discussions about what exactly the children will be eating in preparation for school trips abroad. It invariably always comes up in some form or another, no matter what the actual theme of the meeting itself. I remember going to a meeting once about option choices when parents voiced their concern that children were having too little time at the table before they were being hurried away for the next sitting to be prepared.

My son who is at lycée, came home recently with an invitation for the family to attend a debate at school which was organised by one of the parents’ associations. The subject under discussion that evening was ‘La (mal) bouffe de nos ados’ (Our teenagers and junk food). There is a real desire to maintain healthy eating.

Queries

Questions and complaints are dealt with by members of staff as a matter of course because it is considered a must that parents should be able to know what food and in what conditions their children eat. Parents may approach either their local town hall or the head of school about the meal itself or the preparation of it. School meals are pinned up on notice-boards in schools for everyone to consult. The meals are dated so that you know exactly when they are going to be eaten. They are written course by course: very much like you would expect on the menu at a local restaurant.

Well-Balanced

The school meal is not put together without thought: directives have to be followed. The midday meal has to be made up of a main course based on meat, fish or eggs with raw or cooked vegetables and dairy products and fruit in order to provide the necessary proteins, iron and calcium. Whilst fat content is deemed necessary, it is limited.

The French are as concerned by growing obesity amongst young people as anyone else and that probably explains why my sons have very rarely been served French fries at school. At birth, parents are issued a cornet de santé for their babies and they take it along to every medical check-up. Doctors write their notes on the child’s development in this booklet as well as plotting weight and height on the graph pages – and they do not hesitate to point out when a child’s weight is veering towards the overweight zone on the graph in relation to height. In their teens, with fewer medical check-ups, children are encouraged by the school nurse to regularly plot their own details on these courbes de croissance pages.

Choice

Those responsible for school meals have a duty not only to provide well-balanced meals, but also to provide diversity. Many secondary schools have self-service and whilst the pupils have to have the main course, some schools allow a choice for the other courses. Most school canteens today prepare a substitute dish for children not wishing to eat pork for religious reasons.

No To Packed Lunches

Bringing your own picnic to school is only an option if a child has a special diet for medical reasons and the school cannot provide an adapted meal. Even then, parents have formally to obtain permission beforehand and they need to abide by the strict hygiene and safety laws, in case of illness or accident.

Safety

Over recent years, French parents have expressed the same concern over the safety of eating certain meat and genetically modified foodstuffs as other anxious parents elsewhere. Parents now have the right to consult a wide range of information about what their children eat: the origin of products, the date limit of consumption, the list of ingredients, the presence of additives or GM food and so on. Just as important, the level of hygiene in school kitchens is verified regularly under the direction of the ministère de l’agriculture.

The Cost

The price of a school meal is capped by law and the price paid by families may not be more than the cost of producing it. Families having a number of children are entitled to a reduced price, and families in financial difficulties pay a modified price.

Comfortable

Another thing that is also regulated is ‘the comfort factor’ whilst the children are eating: the hall itself should be an appropriate one (and not too noisy), the furniture should be suitable and the children should be allowed a minimum of half an hour in which to eat – not counting the time waiting to be served!

About six million children eat school meals in France. The organisation may vary: primary schools usually have a centralised kitchen that prepares the meals, whilst secondary schools generally have their own kitchens. The measures that have been introduced over the last few years concern everyone. They reinforce the safety of food, new nutritional recommendations and the awakening of children’s tastes. Above all, there has been an improved transparency of information so that parents may say bon appétit with confidence.