Childhood nutrition is an important element of lifestyle research, since the regularity
and nutritional content of our meals as children, and the way in which they are eaten,
determine our physical and mental health throughout our lives. Prior to 2018, there
was no basic interdisciplinary research on this topic in Hungary, thus to fill the
gap, an interdisciplinary research group was established in 2018 at the Institute
of Ethnography, which carried out nationwide research. The present study is based
on fieldwork undertaken by the author in two schools — 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 a historical and geographical perspective:
I studied archival sources and expanded the field of my investigations by including
Salgótarján, a research location familiar from my earlier research, which provided
a vantage point alongside Ózd and Eger, as a third city typical of Northern Hungary.
Public catering for children has undergone significant changes in the last six to
seven years, although prior to this it had appeared relatively uniform, in line with
the ingredients available at the time. The obligation to provide public catering and
the general obligation to work, which began in the Rákosi era and culminated in the
Kádár era, significantly changed family eating habits. Traditional elements typical
of a particular locality disappeared as the globalization efforts of socialism were
accomplished. The ever-decreasing amount of time devoted to 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. Education on proper nutrition
is not currently part of academic teacher training, thus for want of a better alternative,
teachers organize children’s school meals based on their own experience and socialization
or following the school’s regulations (where they exist), without having a unified
concept. The number of meals eaten at home has been reduced to light breakfasts, lunches,
and dinners, with families mostly sitting down together at the table for dinner, when
they often consume ready meals. Lack of contact with foodstuffs and with the person
preparing the food has a negative impact on children’s psychological development.
Relying on extensive basic research and participant observation, and through the joint
efforts of specialists from several fields of the social sciences, a significant improvement
could be achieved in both public catering and education on healthy nutrition.
