Heather Little-White, Ph.D., Food & Nutrition Consultant

Left: This lunch bag comes with a drink jug and a plastic container. Plus it features the Tiny Toon cartoon character that is appealing to children. Cost $635.   Right: This lunch box is accompanied by a container and drink jug. It is neat and easy to carry. Cost $205. - photos by Junior Dowie/Staff Photographer

Studies have shown that diet and nutrition are critical to the physical and intellectual development of children and have a distinct impact on their susceptibility to disease. As children move through the life cycle, good nutrition and diet should be provided at home and school. School nutrition has had a long history in Jamaica starting with the USAID-funded donor products like bulgar, milk powder and cheese which were used to provide nutritious cooked meals and snacks.

Over the years, limited subventions from the Ministry of Education have caused concerns about the quality of meals provided in school canteens and by school gate vendors. Nutritious school meals can reduce the incidence of diabetes, hypertension and obesity, normally considered adult diseases. The provision of school meals is also associated with an increase in school attendance.

In the absence of national guidelines on sound nutrition policies for schools to meet the nutritional needs of all age groups of children, what has emerged is a proliferation of commercial activity. There is the sale of products with empty calories to garner income to make the canteen operation break even or realise a profit.

If the Ministry of Education is serious about transformation of the education system, then school nutrition should be subject to major reform. Now is the time to examine ways in which the school meals can be expanded and improved. There are many lessons to be learned from best practices and policies for healthy school meals in other countries. Trinidad, for example, has committed substantial resources to facilitate the provision of wholesome meals in the Government school system.

In a country where our cuisine is of international appeal, with an interesting variety of produce and the availability of public and private sector individuals with competence in the field of nutrition and food production, Jamaica should be leading the field in innovative yet economical school meal solutions.

Keen attention must also be paid to the provision of canteen facilities to prepare, serve and store food safely. I would like to see canteens move to become cafeterias with HACCP (food safety) programme in place. Congratulations to the few schools that are making the transition with the help of their Parent Teachers' Associations (PTAs).

Needs Help

School nutrition is an area that needs help at the home and school levels. Parents have the responsibility to provide wholesome meals for their children and in cash-strapped school canteens, operators are challenged to sell products that balance student nutrition requirements and the profit motive. School meals should address both quantity and quality. It is commendable that Food and other media continue to play their part in the promotion of better school meals.

LUNCH BOX MEAL SOLUTIONS

A lunch box is one of the important items for school use. There are some fancy ones on the market. Lunch containers should be durable and tightly covered. If the lunch container is insulated, it offers more options for packing hot and cold foods. Designer-type lunch containers are more expensive and they serve the same function as the ordinary containers.

How does the content of the lunch box match the quality and style of the packaging? In most cases, the items purchased (usually wholesale), are energy-dense, supplying very little of the nutrients required for growth and healthy development. Processed items like cheese trix, plantain or potato chips, sweet biscuits, sodas and bottles or boxed juice drinks manufactured with very little fruit juice should not be included in lunch boxes.

Lunch box suggestions

Cheese and carrot sandwiches

Ripe banana

8 oz. fruit juice

(Fresh fruit juice is recommended. If juice drinks are purchased, juice content should be no less than 50 per cent).

Vienna sausages

Cornbread slices

Banana bread

Orange

Salami and cheese on hamburger bun with lettuce leaves

Coconut rock buns

Pineapple slices

Submarine sandwich

(ham, cheese, tomatoes, lettuce on French bread)

Carrot muffin

Fruit in season

Fruit juice

Easy pizza squares

Cheesy coconut bun

Crispy oven-fried chicken

Buttered roll

Sweet Potato pudding

Pita pockets

Banana bread squares

Tasty Pita Pockets

1small pita bread

2 tbsp. vegetable oil

1/3 Salami, ham

or other breakfast meat

1/4 sweet pepper, chopped

2 tbsp. onion, finely chopped

1 egg, slightly beaten

1/4 cup cheddar cheese, grated

METHOD

1. Cut pita bread in two to form a pocket. Set aside.

2. Heat oil in a frying pan. Add meat, onions, pepper and sauté for 2 -3 minutes.

3. Add egg to the mixture stirring frequently until egg sets.

4. Turn off flame. Add cheese, spoon into prepared bread.

Serves 1 - 2 persons

Ribbon Sandwiches

1 loaf bread (regular sliced

or sliced hard-dough bread)

Filling:

2 cups cheddar cheese,

grated/shredded

1 medium onion, finely chopped

1tsp. white pepper

1 tsp. garlic powder

or chopped garlic

Enough milk to soften cheese

Red, yellow, green food colouring

METHOD

1. Combine all ingredients for filling and mix to a smooth consistency. Set aside.

2. Divide cheese filling into three containers and place one or two drops of each food colouring into each bowl.

3. Spread cheese filling on to one bread slice and cover with another. Slice each sandwich into quarters.

Sausage Beanfeast

1 small onion, chopped

1 clove garlic

1 tbsp. margarine

1 lb. frankfurters, cut in rounds

1 can baked beans

6 slices pineapple, diced

1 tbsp. vinegar

1/2 cup tomato ketchup

Pepper to taste

METHOD

1. Sauté onion and garlic in margarine. Add frankfurters and toss lightly.

2. Add baked beans, pineapple, vinegar, tomato ketchup and stir.

3. Add pepper and simmer for two minutes.

Serve with seasoned rice or crushed potatoes.

Serves 4 - 6

Pizza in a Jiffy

1 hard-dough bread,

sliced diagonally

1/2 cup tomato ketchup

1 cup mild cheddar

cheese, grated

1 tsp. white pepper

1/2 tsp oregano

4 tbsp. onions, grated

2 tbsp. sweet peppers, chopped

1/2 cup frankfurter/ham/

pineapple, chopped

(or desired combination)

METHOD

1. Spread one slice of bread with margarine, then generously with ketchup into which pepper and oregano was mixed.

2. Sprinkle with onion, sweet pepper and the remaining cheese.

3. Cook under a hot grill on top shelf in a hot oven until bread is toasted and cheese melts.

Serves 2 - 3.

- Recipes courtesy of Dr. Heather Little-White