Kyushoku (School lunches) is prepared in the school kitchen. School lunches prepared at a local school-lunch center are delivered to elementary and junior high schools without school-lunch kitchens of their own. Regardless of where the lunches are made, a nutritionist determines the menu based upon the amount of nutrients necessary for the growth of the grade school children as well as the menu’s cost.

Kyushoku cooked at the school kitchen is distributed onto several carts, each of which is wheeled into the appropriate classroom and distributed to the students by the children on lunch duty that day. Before lunch duty, everyone washes their hands, puts on special hats and aprons, and goes about their work. Lunch duty thus also serves as educational training in sanitation.