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Nutrition of school children:
For many years mid.morning milk and meals for school children have been provided
in Southall state schools. This is a most important welfare provision, particularly as
the mid.day dinners are designed carefully to supply an adequate balanced meal once a
day. The value of these provisions is particularly great for children who have to travel
some distance to school as it prevents the hurried consumption and digestion of food
when a considerable part of the meal break has to be spent in going to and from school,
and there is no doubt that children very often are least difficult about food when they
eat communally. Provided school canteens are well maintained and great care is taken
over the handling of the food there is undoubted benefit to be obtained from the school
meals service. It is interesting to see from figures kindly supplied by the
Divisional Education Officer the details of milk and meals acceptance in the various
schools in the Borough. Unfortunately, there seems to be a reduction in the number of
children taking school milk—the reduction though small in the primary section is considerable
in the others. The poor figure for the Grammar School is noteworthy.