Happy National School Lunch Hero Day! Japanese School Lunch

Happy National School Lunch Hero Day! Did you know, today May 5th 2023 isn’t only the celebration day for Cinco de Mayo but the day to honor everyone who contributed to serve healthy yummy school lunch! 

School Lunch Hero Day is created to take a moment to thank everyone who helped to serve school lunch/food in the US. It is held on the first Friday in May annually. 

 

I have talked about school lunch in Japan a lot in this blog, but there are more stories I haven’t shared with you guys. I came up with the perfect topic for today, so please join met Today’s story may surprise you. 

 

<How School Lunch Arrived in Front of Kids>

In my case, school lunch menu was planned about a couple of months prior to the specific month by the school nutritionist. Back then the allergy risk wasn’t taken seriously, so everyone had exactly the same food. The menu changed daily based on what kind of grain was used as the main dish like bread, rice, or noodle (it may sound weird but in their culture, we set grains as “main dish” then then think about what to accompany.) Just like we have Cinco de Mayo celebration, we also have special days almost every month, so the seasonal menu was also added accordingly. After getting approval from the school principal, all ingredients were made to be shipped and the menu list was distributed to everyone on the first day of each month. 

 

<Who Cooked School Lunch?> 

We had a special team responsible for cooking in the school kitchen. There were about 500 kids and probably about 50 adults, so the kitchen had huge pots, pans, and sinks neatly arranged. Around 11am, we started to smell the food and kids couldn’t stop talking about what’s for today’s lunch by checking the menu list. 

 

<How the School Lunch was Distributed>

Every week we took turns for who’s in charge of distributing food. As soon as the class ended, about 6 kids who were in charge changed to special white clothes and ran to pick up the food wagon. The food came in big canteens and buckets, and kids distributed them by making sure everyone got about the same amount of the food. This was challenging, so sometimes oh-no-we’re-running-out-of-the-food happened. When that happened, the kids called everyone to volunteer to return some of the food. Amazingly, all kids volunteered no matter what the food was their favorite. 

 

<How the School Lunch was Served>

That’s another responsibility for kids. There were about 30 kids in my class, so if everyone went to pick up the food, it would be chaos. So just like distribution, we took turns weekly. Those kids served the school lunch tray by making sure everyone got a tray. That means we already trained the server’s skill…we’re ready to work at a restaurant!

 

When everyone was ready to eat, we pressed our hands together and said “itadakimasu” at the same time by thanking everyone who brought food in front of them and happy eating time had started. 

 

If there was National School Lunch Hero Day in Japan, kids would also be heroes. Back then I thought school lunch time was just the time to eat, but there were actually many lectures behind it.

 

Thank you all who contributed for the distribution of school lunch. This National School Lunch Hero Day was created to spot a light in the US schools, but let’s thank everyone around the world who provided healthy yummy food to kids.  

 

<Check Out Posts with Japanese Kids and School Lunch>

Let’s Say Yay to No-Waste Cooking! Crispy Salmon Skin Hand Roll

Happy No One Eats Alone Day! Let’s Eat Together and Have Some Fun!

 

<Japanese Kids’ Favorite School Lunch Menu>

Kinako Dusted (No) Fried Bread

Wakame Seaweed Mixed Rice

Japanese Style Curry Rice

<It’s Cinco de Mayo, Meaning It’s National Enchilada Day!>

Which one do you prefer, red sauce or green sauce?

     

Enjoy home cooking and your own creation of homemade food:)