[Sayama City, Saitama] Menu Using Specialty 'Sayama Tea' Appears in School Lunches Again This May and June!

It is the season for new tea. Many new tea products are lining the shelves of tea shops in Sayama City.

The Sayama City School Lunch Center incorporates local specialties from the city and prefecture into school lunch menus throughout the year. Rice for school lunches comes from the JA Irumano region, and milk is domestic. Other vegetables are sourced as much as possible from Sayama City, the JA Irumano region, and Saitama Prefecture. However, as it is difficult to source everything locally due to weather and seasonal factors, food items from across the country are also used.

To mark the new tea season, the city is offering five menus featuring 'Sayama Tea' in elementary and junior high schools between May and June.

《School Lunch Menus Featuring Tea in May/June》

Elementary Schools (15 schools)
May 11 (Mon): Sliced coupe bread, spring vegetable pot-au-feu, dry curry, 'Mizuna-Cha-rada' salad, milk
May 13 (Wed): Meat-soup udon, Sayama Tea-flavored fried fish cake, stir-fried cabbage, milk
May 18 (Mon): Sayama Tea takikomi-gohan (seasoned rice), hearty miso soup, potato croquette, milk
June 3 (Wed): Rice, root vegetable soup, squid mince cutlet, Sayama Tea bonito furikake, milk
June 17 (Wed): Rice, rice cake soup, bibimbap, Sayama Tea pudding, milk

Junior High Schools (8 schools)
May 7 (Thu): Meat-soup udon, Sayama Tea-flavored fried fish cake, seasoned hijiki, milk
May 14 (Thu): Seaweed rice, carrot and egg soup, bonito cutlet, 'Mizuna-Cha-rada' salad, milk
May 22 (Fri): Sayama Tea takikomi-gohan (seasoned rice), light root vegetable soup, fried chicken, cherry tomatoes, milk
June 4 (Thu): Rice, root vegetable soup, squid mince cutlet, Sayama Tea bonito furikake, milk
June 19 (Fri): Rice, rice cake soup, bibimbap, Sayama Tea pudding, milk

《Menu Descriptions》
Sayama Tea takikomi-gohan: Rice cooked with Sayama Tea powder, Sayama tea leaves, chicken, carrots, and fried tofu. The tea powder gives the rice a subtle green hue, and the fine tea leaves provide the flavor of Sayama tea.
'Mizuna-Cha-rada': Mizuna salad with a handmade dressing using Sayama tea. The name 'Mizuna-Cha-rada' (a pun on 'tea' and 'salad') was selected through a contest held across all elementary and junior high schools.
Sayama Tea-flavored fried fish cake: Tempura made by coating bamboo-leaf-shaped fish cake (sasa-kamaboko) in batter mixed with Sayama tea. It looks like 'isobe-age' (nori-flavored tempura), but has the flavor of tea.
Sayama Tea bonito furikake: Appearing on June 3 (Elementary) and June 4 (Junior High). A handmade rice seasoning made with bonito flakes, sesame seeds, dried young sardines, and Sayama tea.
Sayama Tea pudding: A popular dessert among students.
*Note: The tea used is not new tea.

Efforts to Deliver Nutritious School Lunches in Sayama City

In recent years, food prices have continued to rise, making it difficult to maintain nutritional balance and meal quality within existing budgets. Consequently, school lunch fees have been revised starting in fiscal 2026. For fiscal 2026, the city is using national and municipal subsidies to reduce the burden on parents.

Sayama City has utilized the national government's 'Local Revitalization Temporary Grant for Response to Rising Prices,' providing a subsidy of 43 yen per meal in fiscal 2024 and 73 yen in fiscal 2025. In fiscal 2026, for elementary school students, the city is providing a subsidy of 5,200 yen per month using the 'Municipal School Lunch Fee Burden Reduction Grant.' For junior high school students, the city is independently providing a monthly subsidy of 5,200 yen using the national temporary grant.
*The monthly burden for parents is 300 yen for elementary school and 1,000 yen for junior high school.