Food for thought: Exploring the complexity of school lunch

Professional Communication professor Yukari Seko (opens in new window)  thinks that lunch is more than just a meal. Seko is leading the Lunchbox Shaming Research Project (opens in new window) , exploring how children and families from Asian ethnocultural backgrounds (Chinese, Indian and Filipino) describe their experiences at school lunch time in Canada through an innovative, arts-informed approach. The study’s initial focus is Asian families, whose food culture has historically embodied “otherness,” navigating the Canadian school food system.  

The origin of this research project was personal. Seko realized her five-year-old son’s Japanese-style lunch box stood out among his Senior Kindergarten classmates, which initially sparked her interest in the topic. 

“A child’s lunch box contains so many interesting intersections: a nexus of different cultures, healthy discourse, [and] ways of understanding children and families’ food identities,” Seko says, explaining that while the initial pilot study did not touch on socio-economic implications, she sees this being explored in the future. “What is healthy and what is ‘not’ [healthy] is so ingrained with social class and status.”

Seko says that initial findings had some participants expressing feelings of embarrassment and shame around their packed lunches. “You are encouraged to explore different types of cuisine in restaurant contexts and yet, at school, it is so institutionalized that you only have 20 minutes,” Seko points out. “Instead of a long, one-hour lunch time, you have snack time and lunch time…and you have to pack in a way that fits with that, which is very Western.” 

“When you work with children, art really helps because children are great artists, they are creative…,” Seko says. As an adjunct scientist at Holland Bloorview Kids Rehabilitation Hospital, Seko points out that while an arts-based approach can be helpful for working with children, it has its limitations. “It also helps us notice how ableist and exclusive research methodology can be.” 

The national school lunch conversation is political and timely

“Canada is one of the countries that does not have a national school program,” Seko explains, pointing out that due to widening economic disparity, the time to do this research is now. “It is very important to talk about what Canada is going to be for the next 20 years. We talk so much about diversity and inclusion without talking about what being Canadian is.” 

“Food is a very important part of identity.” Seko believes that there is beauty and creativity in finding a balance between what is familiar, available and new. “[The] national food lunch program tells children what is ‘good’ food at school. That message needs to be disrupted at this point, otherwise it is harder to modify [or] retrofit it later.”

School lunches are an essential part of the everyday routine of Canadian children, and looking towards the future, Seko hopes to apply the study’s findings to co-creating curriculum with primary school age students, parents and teachers.

Differences can be positive, reminds Seko, and encouraging inclusion and more cultural understanding in everyday life can start with disrupting the idea of “healthy eating.”

About The Creative School at Toronto Metropolitan University 

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