University of Pennsylvania ScholarlyCommons Anthropology Senior Theses Department of Anthropology Spring 4-23-2019 ‘I Don’t Really Get It’: An Ethnographic Investigation of the National School Lunch Program of Middle School Children in New Jersey Emily G. Elenio University of Pennsylvania, [email protected] Follow this and additional works at: https://repository.upenn.edu/anthro_seniortheses Part of the Anthropology Commons, and the Education Commons Recommended Citation Elenio, Emily G., "‘I Don’t Really Get It’: An Ethnographic Investigation of the National School Lunch Program of Middle School Children in New Jersey" (2019). Anthropology Senior Theses. Paper 192. This paper is posted at ScholarlyCommons. https://repository.upenn.edu/anthro_seniortheses/192 For more information, please contact [email protected]. ‘I Don’t Really Get It’: An Ethnographic Investigation of the National School Lunch Program of Middle School Children in New Jersey Abstract In light of the obesity epidemic, the National School Lunch Program (NSLP) has been extensively analyzed and criticized. Thus far, literature examining the NSLP has focused on what foods are provided rather than what is actually eaten. Additionally, there is limited research on the socialization effects of school lunch and childhood foodways within a school setting. The ocs ialization of children during household mealtimes has been extensively studied, but these studies have been limited to the family dinner table. The purpose of this ethnographic study is to determine how children are socialized during school lunch and to examine the extent to which children understand health and nutrition. Semi-structured interviews were conducted with students from a middle school in northern New Jersey. The ap rticipants were also observed during various lunch periods in the school cafeteria. Faculty members and lunch service workers were also informally interviewed. The ad ta from the participant interviews and lunchroom observations was synthesized and the analysis of the data revealed common thematic elements: gender, nutritional discourse, commensality, and socialization mechanisms. During school lunch, children sit with students of their own gender, so male and female students are socialized differently. Observations indicate that female students are more likely to share food at the lunch table and male students are more physically active and are less likely to finish their meals. The interviews suggested that children have a basic and profound understanding of health and nutrition which is primarily learned at home. The bso ervations suggest that the mechanism of linguistic socialization deviates from the narrative structure described in the mealtime literature; children reinforce gender roles during lunch time conversations, but their conversations follow different narrative structures. In the context of the obesity crisis, this study reveals the importance of school lunch on socialization and its effects on students’ food choices. Keywords National School Lunch Program, ethnography, nutrition, socialization Disciplines Anthropology | Education This thesis or dissertation is available at ScholarlyCommons: https://repository.upenn.edu/anthro_seniortheses/192 ‘I Don’t Really Get It’: An Ethnographic Investigation of the National School Lunch Program of Middle School Children in New Jersey By Emily Elenio In Anthropology Submitted to the Department of Anthropology University of Pennsylvania Thesis Advisor: Dr. Morgan Hoke 2019 Abstract In light of the obesity epidemic, the National School Lunch Program (NSLP) has been extensively analyzed and criticized. Thus far, literature examining the NSLP has focused on what foods are provided rather than what is actually eaten. Additionally, there is limited research on the socialization effects of school lunch and childhood foodways within a school setting. The socialization of children during household mealtimes has been extensively studied, but these studies have been limited to the family dinner table. The purpose of this ethnographic study is to determine how children are socialized during school lunch and to examine the extent to which children understand health and nutrition. Semi-structured interviews were conducted with students from a middle school in northern New Jersey. The participants were also observed during various lunch periods in the school cafeteria. Faculty members and lunch service workers were also informally interviewed. The data from the participant interviews and lunchroom observations was synthesized and the analysis of the data revealed common thematic elements: gender, nutritional discourse, commensality, and socialization mechanisms. During school lunch, children sit with students of their own gender, so male and female students are socialized differently. Observations indicate that female students are more likely to share food at the lunch table and male students are more physically active and are less likely to finish their meals. The interviews suggested that children have a basic and profound understanding of health and nutrition which is primarily learned at home. The observations suggest that the mechanism of linguistic socialization deviates from the narrative structure described in the mealtime literature; children reinforce gender roles during lunch time conversations, but their conversations follow different narrative structures. In the context of the obesity crisis, this study reveals the importance of school lunch on socialization and its effects on students’ food choices. i Acknowledgements First, I have to thank Penn Anthropology Department for welcoming me into the program and for their continued support. This project was funded by a grant from the department which I am extremely grateful for. Thank you to Ruth Styles for making our department a welcoming and open space. I would like to thank the participants and their families who welcomed me into their homes; this study would have not been possible without them. I wish I could thank everyone at “Lincoln School” who made this ethnography possible. Thank you to my mother, Rose Elenio, for your help with this project and also for cheering me on through college. Thank you to my roommates, Zabryna and Candace, I hope you both never hear the words “school lunch” again. Also, thanks and I’m sorry to everyone who attends Band Study, especially those who were there when I found Poppendieck’s 2012 quote. Lastly, I would like to thank my academic mentors, Dr. Kristen Ghodsee, Dr. Katherine Moore and my thesis advisor, Dr. Morgan Hoke. I must thank Dr. Ghodsee for her continued support and guidance, thank you for teaching me how to think intellectually and critically. Thank you to Dr. Moore for always believing in me and for your encouragement and unwavering commitment to Penn Anthropology. Finally, thank you to Dr. Hoke for your mentorship. I am forever grateful for your time and expertise. I would have never been able to complete this project without your emotional support and academic guidance. I am truly grateful for your enthusiasm and continuous positive energy. ii Table of Contents Introduction ................................................................................................................................... 1 Background to the Research Problem ........................................................................................ 2 Mealtime Socialization Literature ................................................................................... 2 History of the National School Lunch Program (NSLP) ............................................... 9 Socialization within the Lunchroom ............................................................................. 18 Intellectual Framework .............................................................................................................. 23 Methodology ................................................................................................................................ 28 Interviews......................................................................................................................... 28 Observations .................................................................................................................... 29 Results .......................................................................................................................................... 30 The Site ............................................................................................................................ 30 School Lunch Schedule & Lunchroom Set Up ............................................................. 31 National School Lunch Program at Lincoln ................................................................. 33 School Lunch Choices ..................................................................................................... 35 Lunch Seating Observations .......................................................................................... 35 Lunchtime Interaction Observations ............................................................................ 36 Gender................................................................................................................... 36 Conversations ....................................................................................................... 37 Commensality & Trading ...................................................................................... 41 Competition & Play