Local production for local consumption school lunches (3 June 2024)
In May 2024, we submitted a request to the Superintendent of the Board of Education of Hanno City, Saitama Prefecture: “Please provide school lunches in Hanno City with a focus on locally produced and locally consumed agricultural products. We have also submitted a written request together with a council for this purpose. The request was submitted by the Association for School Meals in Hanno City”.
The promotion of nutrition education has been known to the public for more than 20 years now, with the Basic Law on Food Education, but it has not progressed. What should be done about the school lunch project led by local governments?
To plan a school lunch menu, you have to know the local farmers. Local school lunches, which can be centre-based or self-prepared, try to attract local farmers as “local production for local consumption”, regardless of whether they are organic or non-organic. We are requesting the establishment of a council as a place where agricultural cooperatives, the city hall and boards of education can meet.
The Food and Agriculture Subcommittee of Consumers Union of Japan (CUJ) is playing a central role. CUJ publishes a monthly magazine, and a series of articles on local initiatives and an interview with the author of the “Organic School Lunch Start Book”.
I have been cultivating a small field at a local primary school here in Hanno since last April. These include lettuce, cucumbers and crane-neck pumpkins. Although they are not yet in sufficient quantity to be delivered to the school lunchroom, I hope that eventually the pupils will know when and how seasonal vegetables can be harvested and eaten. The weather is unpredictable due to climate change. We are watching to see if the taro will do well this year.
In Japanese: