Несъедобные обеды американских школьников

[peacetraveler22]

At my school, there was no cafeteria. Each morning, my mom awoke early and packed lunch for my sister and me. It grew monotonous, eating the same sandwiches and fruit each day. Secretly, I dreamed of being like my friends who went to public schools, lining up each day to have some old woman with a net around her hair throw slop on my plate. In the U.S., there's constant debate over what school children are fed in the cafeteria. A lot of schools have removed snack and soda machines, and guidelines about nutritional values for school meals are always shifting. Over the weekend, I looked at the menu from my nephew's elementary school, listing the meal choices for each day in the month of May. Common choices include pizza, tacos, hot dogs, hamburgers, chicken nuggets and pastas, all served with some type of vegetable and potatoes or rice. There's always one healthy option like grilled chicken or fish, and a wide-variety of fresh fruit is available for purchase. Yet only the most disciplined of children would pick such options when there are tastier and more indulgent choices placed in front of them each day. All of this creates a very sad picture on the white tray. I grew curious, and began to read about school lunches around the globe, and here's what I discovered!

Look at the culinary delights thrown on these plates from Brazil, Greece and France. The Greek dish looks especially appetizing to me, while the plate from Ukraine has the same sad and pathetic appearance as the USA lunch, filled with greasy sausages, potatoes, cabbage, borscht and a pancake.


If the topic is of interest to readers, I can take my camera and join my nephew for lunch one day to explain more about what school kids in the USA eat. Of course, many parents still pack lunches for their children, so they aren't forced to eat this cafeteria slop each day. However, I think there's some level of excitement for most young kids to go through the cafeteria line each day, pick from a choice of foods, and create their own meals. It's a rite of passage for almost all American school children.

What did you eat during your school days? Cafeteria food, or homemade lunches? I have no idea what Russian children are served in cafeterias or dining halls, because I've never once visited a school there. Has it changed a lot from the Soviet era? What happens if the family has no money to pay for a child's lunch, does the Russian government subsidize it?

Comments

[polis-2.livejournal.com]

It was long ago, in the USSR, and not Russia - and Ukraine.
Now where I grew up - almost absolutely there are no children, in classes - on 3, 5 or 7 children.
The USSR collapsed, and villages began to become extinct. Very sad to realize it. Alas.

[anfishka.livejournal.com]

я не знаю, были ли вы допустим в сибири зимой, где-нибудь около полярного круга. но окажитесь там сразу станет ясно, что тогда идеальный школьный автобус - это вертолет или на оленях))

[peacetraveler22.livejournal.com]

In the USA, esp. rural areas and the South, many people are eating "pickled" vegetables. The taste is too strong for me, but my aunt used to grow vegetables in her garden and put them in jars with vinegar and other items to ferment them. I'm a boring eater, I like mostly bland items (except I really love spicy foods, like Mexican dishes).

[peacetraveler22.livejournal.com]

No, unfortunately I have not yet been to Siberia. :( Hopefully soon and in winter time!

[inescher.livejournal.com]

My daughter (3rd grade) takes lunch from home every day. Last year she ate school lunches but we assumed that she started to have some health problems that completely disappears after finishing of her school year.
But it's not the situation when we completely refuse school menu. Sometimes if she wants... why not? :)))))
Interesting that my older son had home lunch in elementary (private school), school lunches in middle (public school) and... home lunch in high (public school). Came back to the home food was his choice, I only pack it every day.
By the way, I NEVER pack peanut butter sandwiches to my kids. :)
This morning my daughter took her lunchbox with mini-mozzarella cheese and peaches cup for her first snack, grilled turkey sausages garnished with grilled zucchini and fresh tomatoes and fresh strawberries (desert) for her lunch and apple souse and crackers for the second snack in afterschool program.
As for me... I don't remember very good memories from my school lunches in elementary school in Soviet Union. Yes, it was not bad food but it looked weird and sometimes taste the same. :)))

What is "fruit kissel?"

[polis-2.livejournal.com]

This product will turn out if to add a starch quantity to fruit compote.
It will also be Kissel)
By the way there is also a dairy.

[peacetraveler22.livejournal.com]

I know about the current condition and legacy of Russian villages! You did not read my recent story, where I spent the day in a nice village in the Kostroma region? But I've also seen so many abandoned, decayed villages in Central Russia. Very sad.

[koluchkka.livejournal.com]

Wir had lunches, I don't know, free or very cheap - soup, second meal, compot or tea or coffe with milk or cacao. But that all was ... I don't know, it had special taste of russsian столовка. This is definately not that meal, that one cook at home. And also there was cafeteria with cackes and sweets.
P.S. Oups, I seemed to use german instead of english a bit )

[saccovanzetti.livejournal.com]

You have to put jelly on it to make it palatable on an open sandwich.

[polis-2.livejournal.com]

If the frost reached a point in minus of 28 degrees Celsius - children had legitimate right to stay at home and not to walk in school) - a small holiday)))
And we did homework houses by the light of an oil lamp.
And only when I went to the 7th class, there was an electricity. About as!)

[peacetraveler22.livejournal.com]

Russia - only for the strong! Esp. in Siberia! :)))

[polis-2.livejournal.com]

It was Ukraine.
Now such frosts - a rarity)

[anfishka.livejournal.com]

правда я совсем не знаю как со школами обстоят дела сейчас.
а насчет сибири.... опять по ассоциативному ряду из воспоминаний, рассказ моего деда: бывало, что их домик в какие-то зимы полностью, прямо по крышу заносило снегом. так что тут уж никакой автобус не пройдет)) если я, конечно, правильно помню то, что он рассказывал. давно это было. такие истории вполне можно найти в литературе))

[saccovanzetti.livejournal.com]

The world eats potatoes and smokes tobacco after meal (or chocolate, if you are a girl). America has changed the world!

[ir-cherry.livejournal.com]

Я також не дуже люблю мариновані в оцті овочі. Я люблю консервувати. Замість оцту в консервації я використовую аличу, яблуко, помідор або червону смородину. )) Дуже смачно. ))

[saccovanzetti.livejournal.com]

It was coffee without any kick to it, mostly because of substitutes like ground roasted barley ("ячменный кофе").

[inescher.livejournal.com]

Пробачте будь ласка, що втручаюся в вашу розмову з Шеннон. А також, перепрошую за своi помилки украiнською мовою (мало практики та й ще не маю розкладки на клавiатурi).
Дивлячись на картинку, я зi шкiльнум обiдом особисто я не бачу нiчого поганого в украiнськом обiдi. Борщ-це дуже користна iжа, картопляне пюре, салат з капусти-теж. Навить налистничок-це не плохо. Так, оци ковбаски... але чомусь я не вважаю, що це звичайна iжа у шкiльних столових. Сосиска-да, котлетка-також, а ковбаски... :)

Будь ласка, розповiдь, а яка на смак зараз iжа у шкiльних столових? Дуже дякую.

Shannon, If you want I could translate my post in English. I just said that I don't see anything really bad in Ukrainian school lunch. Borsch, potato and cabbage salad are good. Crêpe is good too. Only sausages are questionable. But I don't believe that it's regular thing in school menu. Frankfurter, kotleta (it's kind of similar of burger)- are more typical.
Also I asked if the school food taste good or not.

[peacetraveler22.livejournal.com]

How does your daughter pay for the school lunches? At my nephew's school, the parents put money on a type of prepaid card. I think kids also like this, it makes them feel very "adult" to whip out a card and have the cafeteria cashier scan it. :)) Your daughters lunch today sounds delicious...suddenly, I'm very hungry! I wish someone still packed my lunch every day for work. :)) Usually, I eat only a small yogurt and fruit.

[peacetraveler22.livejournal.com]

German instead of English? It's good to know so many languages! I'm impressed. :)

[inescher.livejournal.com]

Our school offers 3 type of milk as a drink: whole milk, 2% milk, and chocolate milk. No juices (and it's good because it's too much sugar in), soda, and/or other soft drinks.

[anfishka.livejournal.com]

как здорово, когда первые учителя в жизни такие))
нам повезло))

[peacetraveler22.livejournal.com]

I can read through Google translate, and understand! Translation is not necessary. I do not like these sausages and cabbage, but it's normal food for this region of the world. I recently learned to like home made borscht. The school lunches this woman describes in Ukraine sound very gourmet! :)) Perhaps she lives in a very nice district, with fanciful school lunches.

[peacetraveler22.livejournal.com]

Children are hyperactive enough, esp. in elementary school. Added caffeine would only make things worse, so it's good there are no sodas, in my opinion.

[saccovanzetti.livejournal.com]

I think you already can see from the comments that school meals were better in Ukraine than in Russia in the late Soviet time. "Вареники" is a telltale sign that it is a Ukrainian meal. I am curious how meals were in southern Russia. Big cities or small didn't matter much when I went to school. Moscow schools were notorious for horrible meals, barely edible.

[inescher.livejournal.com]

We have a school account link to my daughter. Usually we put the money on and it's automatically charged when the child take lunch/ only milk. There is no card in kids hands. :)

I just finish my lunch so I could talk about the food. :)))