MID-MORNING LUNCH IN RURAL SCHOOLS 23 



As suggested above, a very large percentage of the children in excellent condi- 

 tion showed no change during the year. This proportion was greater, however, 

 in the fed than in the control group (58 and 39 per cent respectively). The pos- 

 sible improvement at this nutritional level was, of course, but slight (from a 

 rating of E— to E) and the drop when it occurred was rarely below G-f or G. 

 The percentage of children who showed no change in nutritional status during 

 the year was somewhat less at the other nutritional levels and tended to be least 

 for the children in poor condition. From a glance at the summary it may be 

 seen that the percentage of children who were in poorer condition in June than 

 in September also tended to be less for those who had been rated poor than for 

 those rated good in the fall, while the reverse was true for the children who 

 improved during the year. While the majority of children receiving the lunches 

 showed some improvement during the year, these changes in the individual 

 children were usually not great, more often being only one or two steps as, for 

 example, from G— to G or from G— to G + . These gains or losses on the whole 

 were somewhat less when the child was in good condition than when he was in 

 only fair condition at the start. In other words, the greatest response to the 

 lunch seems to have been made by the children who were in fair or poor condition 

 when the feeding was initiated, as might have been anticipated. That children 

 who were underfed should respond to an increase in the'r diet after all is not so 

 surprising as that such a large proportion of children who were already in good 

 condition should show improvement. This suggests that, even though not poorly 

 fed, the home diets of the latter group must have been limited in some respects 

 to be so improved by the school feeding. 

 Comparative Results of Different Types of Lunch 



Each type of mid-morning feeding given — whether tomato concentrate, 

 pasteurized milk, evaporated milk, or a mixture of evaporated milk and tomato — 

 produced some improvement in the general nutritional condition of the children 

 as indicated in some detail in Table 6. A summary of these findings shows that 

 a greater proportion of those receiving the lunches than of the controls were in 

 better condition at the end of the year, while fewer of the fed groups were in 

 poorer condition in June. 



Type of Percentage Percentage Percentage 



Mid-Morning Better Showing Poorer 



Lunch in June No Change in June 



Tomato Concentrate 46 34 20 



Pasteurized Milk 61 16 23 



Evaporated Milk 53 30 18 



Evaporated Milk and Tomato 57 28 15 



No Lunch— Controls 34 26 ' 40 



The least improvement occurred in those receiving tomato concentrate, for 

 which several possible explanations may be suggested. In the first place, although 

 richer in vitamin C than milk, tomato does not contain as much of some other 

 food constituents so that its total food value is less. In the second place, 1 cup 

 of milk was fed but only 1/3 to 1/2 cup of tomato concentrate, which was not 

 quite equivalent in food value to 2/3 to 1 cup of the original juice, because of some 

 loss in cooking. And finally, the children's appetites may not have been stim- 

 ulated sufficiently by the tomato so that their food intake at other meals was 

 increased by as much as a cup of milk, or if stimulated, were not satisfied by foods 

 which had the same beneficial effects as milk. 



