Eating family-style offers many benefits to kids. Scan the QR code to follow the official BCIS ECC WeChat account. Photo: Courtesy of BCIS

"Ni chi fan le mei you?" is a common greeting when Chinese friends meet. It literally means "have you eaten or not?" and it shows just how important food is to Chinese culture. Many of us have become used to eating individually and not really having anything to do with our own food preparation. We order our lunches in cafes and restaurants, and eat them by ourselves. At the Early Childhood Center (ECC), the new preschool facility of Beijing City International School (BCIS) in Shuangjing, Chaoyang district, family-style dining traditions are coming back.

"Young children will gain so much from having lunch and healthy snacks at school. They will learn to feed themselves and participate in mealtime traditions, passing and serving food and sharing in interesting conversation. They will sample delicious meals, learn about healthy food choices and portion control while sitting with their teachers and friends in our special dining areas," explains the principal of ECC, Sara Shadravan.

Nutritional balance, sustainability, and cultural variety shape the ECC food programs. Lunch at the ECC is a part of the curriculum and is served in a family-style setting. There are two dining rooms on each of the three floors of the facility - a dining room for every 2-3 classrooms. The classrooms also share several teaching kitchens. The dining rooms have child-friendly round tables and chairs, making it easier for children to enjoy dining time with friends.

The menu looks at the full day nutrition of the student, from morning snack time through lunch. Protein is balanced across the day and non-dairy and vegetarian options are always available. There is also a mix of colors so that the kids learn to eat enough greens while also knowing the value of the other colors. High-sugar fruits versus low-sugar, high-fiber fruits are considered and will be served in balance. The meat dishes will be served on the side of lots of vegetarian options. Western and Asian dishes, for both snack time and lunch, will alternate day by day. 

The family-style dining program at the ECC not only provides students with nutritionally balanced foods and a hands-on chance to learn about smart food choices, it also enables them to practice conversing in groups and being part of a team.

In Italy, it was the Reggio Emilia schools that first introduced family-style dining as a formal part of its pedagogy, and they have proven over the years that when students participate in the preparation and enjoyment of a meal with their teachers, they grow up making better food choices and having more confidence in dining socialization and etiquette. 

The ECC is not just about lunch. BCIS is entering its 10th year next autumn and is a preferred school of expatriates and Chinese nationals in Beijing. It is an IB curriculum school with many extracurricular activities and well-equipped downtown campuses. The ECC campus is a new building, LEED-certified to the gold standard, that will open in August 2014.

The design is based on creating learning environments throughout the school, and the result looks amazing. Contact the admissions office at BCIS for more information about ECC, schedule a tour, and if you can, stay for lunch.