How countries do school lunches

What fuels the growing minds of Americas next generation?



Are those.... turds? 


What they feed the kids elsewhere...



In Oz, parents usually pack their kids home made lunches or give them money for the canteen. However, the teachers will inspect and ensure your kid does not bring something considered 'unhealthy'. They never did this back in my day!.

It's pissed more than a few parents off when teachers exercise their own discretion of what's healthy and what isn't and prevent the kid from eating it



Does someone want to tell the teacher that sultanas are dried fruit?

The Finland picture does not look accurate, I don't know any schools that use trays like that and while they might get pancake with pea soup (the only time they get anything sweet) it won't be crepes but a slice of oven pancake. Actually it was the school lunch today at the Glorious Leader's school. But a more accurate school lunch is some kind meat sauce and potatoes or a pasta dish, or if you're particularly lucky/unlucky, blood sausage and mash. But its free hot meal and provides enough calories to help them learn so its all good, plus they learn to eat food they don't like - a valuable life lesson.

The trays all look identical as well as the floor they put it on so I get that it's somewhat staged. I saw once a documentary showcasing the difference between school lunches done in France vs America. Quite a contrast!


Just for laughs

School lunches here are packed.
If you don't have food, well.. probably some bread with butter on it.

What I like the about the school lunches here is that the children help themselves so can take as much or as little as they want, or go back for seconds. I hated it when I occasionally had school dinners back in the UK and the dinner lady would dump too much whatever on my plate and I'd have to eat it all.

TBH, after a decade of austerity the UK is a bit crap, free school meals can only be accessed if you are totally on the breadline, we provided packed lunch to our kids when they were at school, our middle child admitted to giving most of it away though and buying crisps.

The quality of school lunches in the US is different in each school/district. There are 97,568 public schools in the US!

Comparing the shittiest school lunch in the US to the nicest school lunches in other countries is just weird. I bet there are crap lunches in some of their schools too.

I guess it's that other countries seem to have built a reputation for providing high quality lunches and America is simply synonymous with crappy offerings

https://www.thedailymeal.com/travel/10-best-school-lunches-america-slideshow

This site shows some decent lunch offerings though

What fuels the growing minds of Americas next generation?



Are those.... turds? 


What they feed the kids elsewhere...



In Oz, parents usually pack their kids home made lunches or give them money for the canteen. However, the teachers will inspect and ensure your kid does not bring something considered 'unhealthy'. They never did this back in my day!.

It's pissed more than a few parents off when teachers exercise their own discretion of what's healthy and what isn't and prevent the kid from eating it



Does someone want to tell the teacher that sultanas are dried fruit?

I call BS on those later images.  That seems like more food than an adult eats.

The first image is a little like what my kids get. Usually milk, a slice of bread or tater tots, a breaded chicken sandwich, random veggies. I think it's pizza sometimes.

In some school districts, the food services are self-reliant.  Meaning they get all their budget from food sales in the cafeteria.

TBH, after a decade of austerity the UK is a bit crap, free school meals can only be accessed if you are totally on the breadline, we provided packed lunch to our kids when they were at school, our middle child admitted to giving most of it away though and buying crisps.

My mum made us packed lunch most of the time but I hated sandwiches at that time so I used to throw mine in the bin every day, didn't even give them away, just chucked it backwards over my head so it landed in the bin behind me.

Quote from: Jura-Glenlivet II on October 27, 2022, 06:43:24 AM

TBH, after a decade of austerity the UK is a bit crap, free school meals can only be accessed if you are totally on the breadline, we provided packed lunch to our kids when they were at school, our middle child admitted to giving most of it away though and buying crisps.

My mum made us packed lunch most of the time but I hated sandwiches at that time so I used to throw mine in the bin every day, didn't even give them away, just chucked it backwards over my head so it landed in the bin behind me.

Strange for a Libyan family to do sandwiches.    Thought it would be couscous or something.

Quote from: Colonel Gaydafi on October 27, 2022, 08:39:24 AM

Quote from: Jura-Glenlivet II on October 27, 2022, 06:43:24 AM

TBH, after a decade of austerity the UK is a bit crap, free school meals can only be accessed if you are totally on the breadline, we provided packed lunch to our kids when they were at school, our middle child admitted to giving most of it away though and buying crisps.

My mum made us packed lunch most of the time but I hated sandwiches at that time so I used to throw mine in the bin every day, didn't even give them away, just chucked it backwards over my head so it landed in the bin behind me.

Strange for a Libyan family to do sandwiches.    Thought it would be couscous or something.

Our family liked to be different.

In my school they actually had some decent food.
They had some alfredo, REAL beef hamburgers, and some other good stuff.

Quote from: JimmyTheLobster on October 27, 2022, 09:29:55 AM

Quote from: Colonel Gaydafi on October 27, 2022, 08:39:24 AM

Quote from: Jura-Glenlivet II on October 27, 2022, 06:43:24 AM

TBH, after a decade of austerity the UK is a bit crap, free school meals can only be accessed if you are totally on the breadline, we provided packed lunch to our kids when they were at school, our middle child admitted to giving most of it away though and buying crisps.

My mum made us packed lunch most of the time but I hated sandwiches at that time so I used to throw mine in the bin every day, didn't even give them away, just chucked it backwards over my head so it landed in the bin behind me.

Strange for a Libyan family to do sandwiches.    Thought it would be couscous or something.

Our family liked to be different.

Well, you were Mummy's Little Dictator.  Nothing too good for you.

I guess it's that other countries seem to have built a reputation for providing high quality lunches and America is simply synonymous with crappy offerings

https://www.thedailymeal.com/travel/10-best-school-lunches-america-slideshow

This site shows some decent lunch offerings though

Other than the New Orleans school, all the others are in what I think would be considered wealthy areas (shit, the New Orleans kids have to grow and cook their own food. lol). They even included a couple expensive private schools.

I think that perhaps people don't know that public schools in the US don't all receive the same funding. Wealthy areas have better funded schools than poor ones.

Quote from: Wolvaccine on October 27, 2022, 07:31:40 AM

I guess it's that other countries seem to have built a reputation for providing high quality lunches and America is simply synonymous with crappy offerings

https://www.thedailymeal.com/travel/10-best-school-lunches-america-slideshow

This site shows some decent lunch offerings though

Other than the New Orleans school, all the others are in what I think would be considered wealthy areas (shit, the New Orleans kids have to grow and cook their own food. lol). They even included a couple expensive private schools.

I think that perhaps people don't know that public schools in the US don't all receive the same funding. Wealthy areas have better funded schools than poor ones.

Oh! So that's why my school has good food.
I live on the border of Gresham and Portland and it's in a good area.

My Mum packed my school lunches herself.

Quote from: Wolvaccine on October 27, 2022, 05:50:17 AM

What fuels the growing minds of Americas next generation?



Are those.... turds? 


What they feed the kids elsewhere...



In Oz, parents usually pack their kids home made lunches or give them money for the canteen. However, the teachers will inspect and ensure your kid does not bring something considered 'unhealthy'. They never did this back in my day!.

It's pissed more than a few parents off when teachers exercise their own discretion of what's healthy and what isn't and prevent the kid from eating it



Does someone want to tell the teacher that sultanas are dried fruit?

I call BS on those later images.  That seems like more food than an adult eats.

The first image is a little like what my kids get. Usually milk, a slice of bread or tater tots, a breaded chicken sandwich, random veggies. I think it's pizza sometimes.

Nuhhh, I was in China, and they served basically rice and veggies and meat with sorta mild spices (mostly coriander), pickled veggies, and buckwheat buns. They also on Saturday had adult only meals which were things like silkworm.

This was lunch.



Breakfast, if I remember correctly, was a packet of milk (lactose intolerance was a thing there so they were probably trying to develop resistance), hard boiled egg, pickled veggies, a bun, and rice. lunch and dinner were more varied.

This was lunch.



Breakfast, if I remember correctly, was a packet of milk (lactose intolerance was a thing there so they were probably trying to develop resistance), hard boiled egg, pickled veggies, a bun, and rice. lunch and dinner were more varied.

What facility are you in?

This was lunch.



Breakfast, if I remember correctly, was a packet of milk (lactose intolerance was a thing there so they were probably trying to develop resistance), hard boiled egg, pickled veggies, a bun, and rice. lunch and dinner were more varied.

Where did you grow up?
Looks good.
Itadakimasu!

The Glorious Leader got her favourite school lunch the other day - spinach pancakes, then spilt her water over her plate and ruined them.

Indeed, the government doesn't seem to prioritize children's food and nutrition. I suppose things will go even worse. On a brighter note, have you tried making honey lime chicken at home? It's a delightful dish that combines the sweetness of honey with the tanginess of limes, creating a flavorful and nutritious meal that even children might enjoy. Taking control of what goes into our meals can be a positive step towards ensuring a healthier future for our kids.

Mr Wallaby, I notice that you edit in links to food blogs in all of your posts. I'm beginning to think you are a sentient foody spambot.