Mensa am Schulzentrum Erbach e.V.

The cafeteria is responsible for the catering for the students of all classes at the different schools at the school centre. As two of the schools are in full-time operation, the school authority (the town of Erbach) is obliged to ensure the organisation of lunchtime meals. The town of Erbach has therefore commissioned the Mensa Association with this task. The special feature of this work is also the involvement of parents who work on a voluntary basis. One or two adults are divided into daily rotation. They help to prepare and serve food. Pupils from grades 8-10 are also assigned daily to help with washing up, drying and cleaning up. This gives the volunteers the opportunity to meet a large number of people every day and to practice the language. The aim of the work in the canteen is to provide good and comprehensive care for the pupils (this is the target group) of all ages. The volunteers are involved in this daily work. They get to know the daily routine and also learn how to deal with the children and young people at the schools. They learn about the organisation and work processes in a canteen kitchen and can observe how children are welcomed at our facility and can make first contacts with the children, who they will meet again later in the school garden. The Mensa provides the children with food of the highest possible quality, which we process ourselves. Already in the morning the children can get a small breakfast for free. During the breaks we offer a varied range of baked goods, fruit and milk. The volunteers are closely involved in this daily work. This means that fresh lunch is cooked every day and as much food as possible from the immediate surroundings is used and a portion of it in organic quality obtained. It is not only about "filling up" the children and young people in the canteen, the quality standards of the school catering are an important guideline for the daily work: "If children spend more and more time at school, the catering must be as optimal as possible. All components, i.e. food, time, attention, interest in conversation, will have to find their place in school life". A principle aim is to try to convey to the pupils, always in cooperation with the schools, that food is something precious and that we all have to handle it responsibly. In order to make this clear, a large school garden directly on the school grounds has been created. Children and young people of all ages work there under the guidance of a gardener and her teachers as part of the daily lessons. They experience the course of the year and the growth of the plants and thus spend time outdoors in nature. They experience that different weather can also be an enrichment. They learn how much time and care plants need until they reach our plates. Some of these vegetables, herbs and fruit are used fresh in the canteen for lunch. Visits to a farm and the forest offer further experiences in nature and with animals, which help to show children a variety. The volunteers are involved in all these things and work regularly with the children in the garden, so they all experience these processes. After a good introduction, they also take on individual small groups (AG`s) to look after them. Through regular discussions of the work and the organisation they are very well integrated and can get to know this work. They are encouraged to plan, organize and then carry out their own ideas for offers to the children. The volunteers also take care of the garden. An important area is the annual apple juice production. The canteen association and a school jointly cultivate a meadow orchard. The care and harvest is a common task of many people involved. In autumn, the apples of the classes 7-10 are harvested in a big action. All children of the schools can then experience how apple juice is made from the apples and preserved. The children enjoy the apple juice as a drink for lunch throughout the school year. For the school community this is an outstanding eve