Schools have switched to a new menu. What do children like the most?
Recently, the authorities have once again raised the issue of school meals. Alexander Lukashenko even spoke about this at one of the meetings. He said that there is too much waste in the canteens, and wondered when they would be fed in such a way that it would be tasty and the food would not cool down? As a result of that meeting, a new menu, which was called "experimental", was very quickly developed. The bottom line is that now the food should be as close to homemade as possible in taste. Onliner journalists found out how children are fed now, whether there will be favorite nuggets and burgers in the buffets, and even tried dishes from the children's menu.
«The kids really liked the pancakes»
Journalists meet with Gleb Lavrinovich, Deputy Chairman of the Education Committee of the Minsk City Executive Committee, at Gymnasium No. 36. In about 15 minutes, the bell will ring for the second break and the dining room will be filled with children. But for now, it's quiet here and the staff are setting the tables without rushing.
— This is not the first time we have improved our menu, based on the taste preferences of schoolchildren. We did similar work in 2023 — then we also added new dishes, — says Gleb Lavrinovich. — As for this year, we have now paid more attention to the items that schoolchildren accept best. However, there are no fundamentally new dishes on the menu — it's all been there before, we just tweaked them and decided to offer them more often.
Pancakes with cottage cheese and syrniki were added to the elementary school menu. As part of last year's pilot project, the children really liked dumplings, and we brought them back too. And from breakfasts, we tried to remove what the children liked less — for example, cutlets. Many children have breakfast at home, and they don't want to repeat the same meal. We try to give them what they like the most.
And it is already safe to say that dishes such as pancakes and hot cheese sandwiches have been to the schoolchildren's liking: the percentage of waste has decreased. It is minimal and for these items it is no more than two percent.
As for older children, students in grades 5 to 11, they get lunch. Their menu has not changed significantly, but we tried to add what we didn't give before — for example, the same pancakes and cottage cheese casserole. These dishes were very well received by high school students. Repeated visits to schools have shown that the children are satisfied with this diet and speak positively about it.
The main complaint voiced by the head of state concerned the large amount of waste. And our updated menu is already showing results — the amount of waste has decreased significantly. Of course, you can't do without it: there are children who don't eat something. But, I repeat, there is significantly less waste — no more than 8—10 percent.
How is the decision made about which dishes to add to the menu? To do this, questionnaires are conducted among students and their parents. During it, schoolchildren, together with their parents, shared their wishes and wrote down the dishes that they would like to see in the school cafeteria most often. According to Ekaterina Furs, Deputy Director of Gymnasium No. 36 for Educational Work, some people wrote down nuggets and hamburgers, among other things. But it was decided to reject such proposals.
— At school, we strive to instill the idea of proper nutrition, which should positively affect the health of children. And you can't say that about burgers and wings. They are unlikely to appear on the menu, — says Gleb Lavrinovich.
— Are you trying to offer dishes that are as similar as possible to homemade food?
— That's the idea. We want the children to eat what they cook at home. But families have their own traditions. We always say: we won't be like at home, but we strive for that.
«Cottage cheese pancakes — the main hit»
Meanwhile, in the kitchen, they are already finishing cooking for the second break — today schoolchildren are offered pancakes with cottage cheese and chocolate sauce, as well as mashed potatoes with baked chicken. According to the head of production, Alina Skakun, there are fewer meat dishes on the menu, and high school students are now more often served pancakes, casseroles, syrniki and chops.
— And what is the main hit from all of the above now? — I ask Alina.
— Pancakes with cottage cheese or fruit puree. In addition, they eat syrniki and Appetizing chicken with mashed potatoes well. What didn't the schoolchildren like? They didn't like potato babka, stewed potatoes. These items had to be removed from the menu.
Before each serving, the food is tested by a sampling committee — school and cafeteria staff who taste the dishes, assess their appearance and quality of preparation. If any questions arise, the commission may not allow the food to be distributed. As we were told, this has happened, but very rarely.
What does a student's diet look like?
Journalists studied an approximate two-week diet for schoolchildren in the autumn period. Here is just some of the list of dishes (excluding extended day program).
- — Pancakes with cottage cheese or apple and cinnamon.
- — Syrniki.
- — Casserole.
- — Pilaf.
- — Boiled sausages
- — Dumplings.
- — Mannik «School».
- — Cutlet «Paparats».
- — Chicken «Appetizing».
- — Baked sandwiches.
- — Cutlet «Golden Fish».
- — Fruit puree.
- — Shish kebab «School».
- — Side dishes: buckwheat porridge, mashed potatoes, baked potatoes.
A little later, we also tried lunch. It did not cause any complaints. It was warm and filling. What is interesting is that previously chicken fillet was cooked for children, but it seemed dry, and now Appetizing chicken is prepared from a more juicy thigh pulp, without bone.
«We don't receive complaints about cold food»
One of the complaints expressed by schoolchildren and parents is cold and chilled food. According to Gleb Lavrinovich, this issue has also been resolved.
— Last year, the Ministry of Education launched a chatbot in Telegram dedicated to school meals. And it did receive complaints from parents related to cold and chilled food. But in the last two weeks, we have not yet received such claims. How did you solve this issue? We tried to reduce the time it takes to set the table in schools.
«A lot depends on habits in the family. If they don't cook porridge at home, then the children won't eat it at school»
It's 10:45, and the dining room is gradually filling with students in grades 5 and 6. Special attention is paid to them: according to observations, it is the children from these grades who, for some reason, eat less than the others.
— The high school students will come next. They will definitely eat everything — nothing will be left, — they said in the school cafeteria.
Someone immediately ran to the buffet for cakes and sweets, while someone started having lunch. Many ate their portions whole, but there were also those who didn't even touch the chicken: they poked the mashed potatoes with a fork a little and went to take the plate away.
— This is influenced, among other things, by what children eat at home. After all, taste preferences are formed primarily in families, — says Gleb Lavrinovich. — And if parents don't cook buckwheat or other cereals at home, then the child won't eat them at school either.
How long will the experiment last? Initially, it was planned that the menu would be tested during the first two weeks of the second quarter, but later the trial period was decided to be extended.
— In agreement with higher government bodies, we decided to work out the new formed menu until the end of the quarter. Accordingly, we will try to make the menu for the third quarter as satisfactory as possible for schoolchildren. Perhaps something new will appear, because the menu cannot be exactly the same. Both adults and children want variety, so dishes need to be changed so that they don't get boring.
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