„A gyerekek nem szívesen eszik azt, amit előírás szerint enniük kellene…” A gyermek-közétkeztetés vizsgálata történeti távlatokban

Abstract

Children’s nutrition is an important element of lifestyles studies, since the regularity, method, and nutritional content of childhood meals determine our physical and mental health and our entire adult life. Prior to 2018, there had been no interdisciplinary basic research on the topic in Hungary, so to fill the gap, in 2018, an interdisciplinary research group was established at the Institute of Ethnology, which carried out nationwide research. The present study is based on the fieldwork experience from two schools investigated by the author: the János Lenkey Primary School in Eger (formerly Primary School No. 1) and the Tamás Bolyki Primary School in Ózd, as well as a large amount of information gleaned from questionnaires and interviews. My research was also extended in terms of historical perspectives: I carried out archival source exploration and expanded the field of my investigations with a research location well-known from my previous research, Salgótarján, as a sort of vantage point next to Ózd and Eger, a third typical city in northern Hungary. Children’s public catering has gone through significant changes in the last 6-7 years, but prior to that, it showed a relatively uniform level, corresponding to the current level of sources of raw material. The public catering and general work obligation, which started in the Rákosi era and culminated in the Kádár era, significantly changed the eating habits of families. The traditional elements typical for a locality have disappeared as the globalization efforts of socialism were accomplished. The ever shortening times for preparing, cooking, and consuming food moved society in the direction of canteens, fast food restaurants, and later, after the regime change, global fast food chains. At the moment, education on proper nutrition is not part of academic teacher training, so for lack of a better way, teachers organize children’s school meals based on their own experience and socialization or following the school’s regulations (if there are any), without a unified concept. The number of meals at home has been reduced to light breakfasts, lunches, and dinners, with families mostly sitting down together at the dinner table, often consuming ready meals. The lack of contact with the food and the person preparing the food has a negative impact on children’s psychological development. Relying on extensive basic research and participant observation, through the joint effort of specialists from several fields of social sciences, a significant improvement could be achieved in both public catering and education on healthy nutrition.