School Lunches In The 1950's

This article was about a study done on school lunch practices in typical schools. Some of the results were shocking, while others were what was expected. I wasn’t sure if in the 1950’s schools served lunch, but I came to find out that a lot of schools did. Sanitary efforts in the 1950s compared to now were very low and not monitored as much as today. Many insanitary practices were reported. The most prominent thing found was contaminated food. Many children were getting sick of things such as typhoid, Salmonella, and shigellosis. Employees were practicing poor sanitation such as not washing their hands or leaving food out increasing sickness in children. The American School Health Association, a quasi-governmental organization, sent questionnaires
Different size elementary, middle, and high schools from all over the United States were included in the survey. Most of the schools were public and their lunches were of the complete type (federal type A or equivalent). The findings of some of the questions are shocking. One questions was, “Is running hot water available?” The majority of schools said yes, but there were still a lot of schools that said no. You would think that having hot water would be mandatory. The schools were then asked to indicate dishwashing methods used. The majority reported back that they used a machine with one or two compartments. Another large number used one or two sink compartments for washing and sanitizing. Only half used glass or plastic shields to cover displays and the other half didn’t. It is important to have protective devices to
During that time, many things were going on in the United States. According to the History Channel, rock-n-roll was on the rise, desegregation of schools were starting, rise of the cold war, and the average family income was just $3200 per year. Little girls were getting Barbies, Elvis was on the rise, and the United States added Alaska and Hawaii. The United States held the military power. Its economy was thriving, and new cars, suburban houses and other goods were available to more people than ever before (History.com Staff, 2010). The United States was really picking up and problems in schools was getting better, but there were still a lot of improvements to