School Lunches
You’ve got to check this out: click here to see school lunches from all over the world.
One look at this stuff and I’m swept back in time to my high school cafeteria, standing in line behind Bruce Jarchow (my cute boyfriend/football star). The smell of the room is always the same, regardless of what the day’s entrée is, and it’s not an odor that stimulates the appetite. I’m watching volunteer moms slap those burgers on our plates, adding a few overcooked green beans and a wad of mashed potatoes before we move on to the pyramid of milk cartons and the triangles of pie.
The food sucked. My guess is, it still does. My younger daughter’s high school’s food sucks. My older daughter’s fancy pants college’s food sucks. What’s up with this? Isn’t it just as easy to spend money on decent food as on suck-o food?
I complain about this a fair amount, which is why I found this site, with snapshots of what the world’s kids are eating, so interesting. I scrolled down the page, noting that some of the lunches look pretty darn good, featuring foods that have retained some color and fiber, while others, uh, don’t. My eyes came to rest on a particular lunch tray that looked like the bottom of my pet hamster’s cage, it’s contents all beige and pellet-like. To me it was the worst one, punishment food, food that would assure a student’s failure in the classroom and dismal future.
Scroll down to the thirteenth tray. That was my pick for worst lunch on the page. Now note which country it is that’s serving it up. Now weep.
You are right. US lunches look disgusting. I much prefer most of the Asian lunches, especially that first Japanese one! I have to admit, though, I loved most of my hot lunches in school, but by the time I got to high school, we had Little Debbies and Hostess shipped in and I spent four years eating crap for my midday meal.
What really freaks me out are the “disposable” Styrofoam trays that US schools are using. That junk don’t decompose.
Honestly, i wonder where they took the pics for the French meals. In all my school years, i’ve never saw anything that look as good – it didn’t even look as “good” as the 13th tray most of the time… The only difference is that we have our food in plates, not in tray, but it still look (and taste) disgusting. I wouldn’t call it food, just something to keep our stomach full – or empty, depending the kind of food you had (i remember a lot of afternoon with many stomachs growling)…
I went to a Catholic, (Pre-Vatican II), grade school in the mid 60’s. It was in a blue collar Italian neighborhood so the food was pretty good. I do remember one day, a habited Dominican Nun, on lunch duty, named Sister John Bosco, (the Saint not the chocolate drink), insisting that little Johnny Petrella eat his corn. Johnny told the Sister that corn made him sick; she still insisted and Johnny proceeded to throw up on Sr. John Bosco who in turn pulled out the hankie tucked in her sleeve and began to throw up into that. Could have been like the movie “Stand By Me”, a real barf o rama, but Sister and Johnny were quickly escorted out; while John the custodian sprinkled the mess with saw dust.
That website made me hungry… Jessica cook me something plz?? 🙂
I wonder how many of the kids in these other countries think their lunches are yukky and disgusting (especially those white “thingies” which are tofu) and look longingly at America lunches with greasy chicken fingers and fried potatoes and Niblets and fruit cocktail and bread sticks!
As for your daughter’s “fancy pants college” (where I work!) the food and variety the students have to choose from and the number of places they can spend their points is so much better than what passed for food when we were students, it would make you jealous. It is really pretty good-though institutional food 3 x daily can be a bit wearing no matter how much variety.
I think your mission is faatnstic! We had the wonderful opportunity to have your Inside the Box lunches at Generations Christian Church today and I must say it far exceeded our expectations. Please congratulate all the participants, it was delicious. I understand that you are planning on having this available for Pasco County and I have your menu, but I wonder what would be the minimum order, now or when you are operational in Pasco? Thanks for making our Beautiful event faatnstic. The people at our table all commented on how delicious your Inside the Box luncheons were. I certainly will keep you in my prayers so that your Pasco service will be a success very soon, as it will definitely be a blessing for Pasco.Thank you again for all you do.Dora LoefflerMember of Generations Christian Church10/6/12