They aimed to foster ideal dietary habits among school
children by introducing rice in school lunch, as rice is
basic traditional food in Japan. Besides, there was increasing
effort to incorporate locally produced ingredients
into school lunch. The use of local ingredients would ensure
freshness, and also play a vital role in food education
fostering the sense of links with the local community and
appreciation for foods. Under this movement, they came
to recognize importance of rice, rather than bread from
western diets. Nowadays, rice is served around three
times a week in school lunch (Table 1)