Opinions and Responses

About School Lunch

I heard that the children were dissatisfied because the school lunches were small and did not include much meat or other items.
I received the lunch menu for June yesterday, and while the standard calorie count for junior high school students' lunches is 830 kilocalories, the average in Inagi City was only 762 kilocalories. The protein content was also mostly at the lower limit. I understand well why children express dissatisfaction.
Despite the high cost of living, it is unreasonable to keep school lunch fees constant. While free school lunches are greatly appreciated, we would not mind paying a small fee if it could help increase the funding for school meals. We sincerely ask for your kind consideration on this matter.

Response

In School Lunch, menus are created with reference to the "School Lunch Intake Standards" established by the Ministry of Education, Culture, Sports, Science and Technology, taking into account the necessary nutritional amounts for children and students. However, these standards represent national average values and are intended to be applied flexibly.
In Inagi City's School Lunch program, we refer to these standards and strive to create menus that combine a variety of ingredients to ensure a balanced intake of each nutrient. However, due to facility operations, the same menu is used for both elementary and junior high schools, so adjustments for the necessary energy intake based on age are made by varying the amounts of staple foods, side dishes, and soups. We will continue to make efforts to create menus in accordance with these standards.
In the "School Lunch Survey" conducted in fiscal year 2022, the responses from junior high school students regarding the "amount of rice" and "amount of side dishes" showed that the combined percentage of those who answered "just right" or "too much" was 92.3% and 83.8%, respectively. Based on these results, we believe that efforts are being made in each class to adjust the portions of rice and side dishes during serving.

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