When you consider your lunch options today -will it include an hor doeuvre, a salad, a main course, a cheese plate and finally a dessert? Probably not. This weekend I shopped for the soup that you can heat and eat out of the same container-the cup kind so that I can drive to the hospital and eat at the same time.

 The schools in Paris take their food very seriously. Children are silenced while a menu is read to them. Five courses later, after a relaxing meal, they are released. Compare this to your child's lunch hour (did I say hour?- some of these kids get twenty minutes). French children learn that eating takes place at the table and they do not rely on vending machines to provide their nutrition. The lunch program is well-funded so while budget cuts may take place elsewhere, the organic fruit and Edam cheese will not be threatened.

 An article in "Time" magazine points out that it may not be the red wine that keeps the French people trim, it may be the approach to eating itselt that is introduced to children at a very young age. With the rise in obesity seen in the United States and the accompanying health problems, we need to take notice of what other cultures are doing right. If children are our most valuable resource, we need to do better than hamburgers and pizza (with a side of chocolate milk) for lunch each day.

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