HOT SCHOOL MEALS

Dominion, Volume 12, Issue 77, 26 December 1918, Page 4

HOT SCHOOL MEALS

A MINISTER'S SUGGESTION. • Last year a sum of nearly ,£9OOO was voted by Parliament and distributed by the Education Department to assist the finances of school committees. This year a further sum of ,£ISOOO was voted for the same purpose, and regulations aire now being prepared dealing with its distribution. The Minister of Education (Hon. J. A. Hanan) told a Dominion reporter in this connection that he hoped some of the' additional money would be used to provide cooking appliances at some of the schools, in order that children who had to travel considerable distances to 6cliool might lie given hot cocoa or soup, or even a hot meal, in the middle of the day. The value of an arrangement of this kind had been recognised widely in the United States and Canada. A wfivni meal in the middle of tnß day promotes the health and comfort of the children. It assists them in their studies, and it gives the touchers an opportunity to extend their infiucneo .and their sphere of usefulness. In some of the American schools vegetables raised in school gardens are used for the midday meal of the children, who do their own cooking and washing-up under the supervision of the teacher.