We find ourselves in Panormo.
People who struggled dreamed of a better future for their children, which they connected with their education. This way, young people could escape poverty and difficult living conditions, hoping for a better future. These expectations, however, could vanish at a very early stage due to a severe economic and social reality, which is described in the letter of a teacher of the time, to E. Lampadario, Director of School Health at the Ministry of Education:
"Dearest, a typical description of the food that the Greek children of the elementary school I am directing provide you the following incident.
As soon as I arrived here in October and took over the school, it seemed to me that a little before noon, all children were almost asking for leave and went to the school yard carrying baskets which contained their lunch.
So, I was most surprised when I found the cause of the children's leave. They are forced to soak their bread in water half an hour earlier in the tin which they use as a glass. I examined the contents of the basket in which they had their food and what do you think I discovered! Their food was a piece of hard black bread that could only be cut with an axe. They had a small piece of herring, or rather its relics, or a little cheese and nothing else ... "(Magazine: Red Cross Youth, May 1930)
PUPIL FOOD HALLS
Especially in war situations which made life even more difficult, the state undertook the feeding and health provision of vulnerable social groups of the population. In this context, pupil feeding halls were the primary measure of welfare policy for those children who were greatly affected by war and occupation.
Carob was the food that saved the undernourished Greek population during the Second World War.
The following excerpt outlines the gloomy reality experienced by pupils at the time of the occupation (Anthology for pupils of Primary Education, Part Two, 1975)
THE SOLDIER’S VEST
Undoubtedly, Greek soldiers also experienced great trials on the front line, which the civilian population supported in various ways. Such an event of solidarity was the gathering and sending of clothing to the embattled of the organization "The Soldier’s Vest", which was founded in 1939 by the women of Athens, and to which also the students of the Pedagogical Academy contributed. For this reason, they were honored with the bronze cross by Queen Frederica, who set up, under her protection, the above organization in order to build a profile as being “supportive of the people”.
MARSHAL PLAN
The end of the war found Greece impoverished and destroyed. The Marshal plan contributed to the country’s rapid financial development and support of the people. The postwar pupil feeding quarters were one such form of economic and social support.
