Note 20 — Chapter I · THE HISTORY OF THE MOVEMENT FOR THE PROVISION OF SCHOOL MEALS

The Times, April 15, 1880. Speaking of the children at London Hospitals, Dr. Robert Farquharson writes: "Ill-fed and badly housed and clothed, exposed to depressing sanitary and domestic conditions, these poor creatures are frequently expected to do an amount of school work of which their badly-nourished brains are utterly incapable. I have long been familiar with the pale, dejected look, the chronic headache, the sleeplessness, the loss of appetite, the general want of tone, caused undoubtedly by the undue exercise of nervous tissues unprovided with their proper allowance of healthy food." Such children "are by no means inclined to shirk their lessons; they are frequently much interested in them; but, feeling the responsibility of class and examinations keenly ... they become sleepless and restless, and rapidly lose flesh and strength." (Ibid., April 19, 1880.)