Parents in Ho Chi Minh City "scrutinize" the boarding kitchen, try their children's lunch at school

(Dan Tri) - By organizing kitchen activities and open meal times, many schools in Ho Chi Minh City have invited parents to directly experience the one-way kitchen process and try their children's boarding meals.

Parents go into the kitchen and eat each dish.

In the context of parents increasingly concerned about the quality of school meals, many schools in Ho Chi Minh City have chosen to “open their kitchens”, inviting parents to directly see, taste and evaluate their children’s food. This experiential activity quickly received a great response.

Waking up early to directly visit the food receiving and processing process at the school's semi-boarding kitchen, Ms. Nguyen Thi Huyen Trang, parent of two children in grades 1 and 2 at Hiep Tan Primary School (Phu Thanh Ward, Ho Chi Minh City) attentively paid attention to each step.

Parents of Hiep Tan Primary School visit the boarding kitchen (Photo: Huyen Nguyen).

The young mother spent a lot of time observing everything from the one-way kitchen operation process to the preparation and cooking stages for both students and teachers.

Amid widespread concerns about food safety, real-life experience has given Trang peace of mind.

“When we went to observe the kitchen, all the utensils and corners were neat and clean. This had to happen regularly every day, not just today. The girls did it very skillfully according to the process,” Ms. Trang shared.

She expressed her wish that every school would organize a kitchen right on the premises because that way, school leaders would supervise more closely, not waste much time traveling, food would not be affected by time factors, and bacteria penetration would be limited.

What surprised Ms. Trang the most was her child's eating habits. She said: "At home, my child is very picky, mostly only eating cereals and fish. But at school, he can eat braised meat, stir-fried vegetables, soup, and all the dishes! He has to finish his food to ensure nutrition and weight."

Ms. Huyen Trang directly monitors her child's meals at school (Photo: Huyen Nguyen).

Ms. Ngoc Yen, a parent of the 19/5 City Kindergarten (Tan Dinh Ward, Ho Chi Minh City), said that as a member of the parent representative board, she was able to visit and supervise the school kitchen, and see information about the food provided in the children's meals.

According to Ms. Yen, transparent and public kitchen and meals for children make parents feel secure when sending their children to school all day, contributing to building a friendly and happy school.

Transparency is the best way to build trust.

Ms. Nguyen Thi Minh Nguyet, Principal of Hiep Tan Primary School, shared that organizing activities to publicize meal quality is an annual activity of the school. The menu, quantity, etc. are posted on the bulletin board at the school gate and on the website.

Not only directly inspecting the kitchen, the activities are expanded when the school publicly announces food suppliers, holds monthly meetings, organizes direct Q&A sessions and invites parents to meals to evaluate the quality of students' meals.

Parents experience school meals (Photo: Huyen Nguyen).

“With the criteria of school health safety, from the selection of suppliers, organizing cooking to the output, each meal is carefully monitored and hygiene and safety are always put first. The school focuses on menu planning to ensure nutrition for students of each age group,” said Ms. Nguyet.

Similarly, 19/5 City Kindergarten, Nguyen Binh Khiem Primary School, Nguyen Hien Primary School… also organize many activities for parents to experience with their children.

According to the leader of the City 19/5 Kindergarten, to reassure parents about the safety of their children's meals, ensuring food hygiene and safety and nutrition, the school publicizes meals, menus, and food suppliers via eNetViet and the school's information board.

Schools publicly announce weekly menus as prescribed (Photo: Huyen Nguyen).

At the same time, the school has a refrigerator displaying the actual food that children eat for breakfast, lunch, and snacks, with the correct dishes and drinks for the children's portions. The refrigerator is located right outside the entrance hall so that every parent can easily observe it every morning and afternoon when picking up and dropping off their children at school.

In addition, the school also organizes a variety of activities for parents to visit and supervise the kitchen where children's food is prepared to understand the processing process, understand the origin of food, and publicize brands and food suppliers to the school.

Source: https://dantri.com.vn/giao-duc/phu-huynh-tphcm-soi-bep-an-ban-tru-an-thu-bua-trua-cua-con-o-truong-20251114164048108.htm