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

Real school food

[alienintheworld.livejournal.com]

Hey Shannon! Your posting reminded me of an instagram of one kid in Russia who takes pictures of his school lunches every day.
https://instagram.com/igor_kgv
I don't know about modern lunches (I graduated in 1991) but his pictures bring many memories from my soviet school cafeteria. This was the real thing, not what is depicted on your cover photo under Ukraine title. I think I never had blini (crepes) in school. We only had оладьи (fat pancakes) with sour cream and NEVER sugar (so I couldn't stomach them that way) and we weren't allowed to leave food on our plates so I had to stuff those stupid pancakes in my pockets to pass the дежурные (children on duty) and leave the cafeteria. Yeah, those elementary school troubles...

Re: Real school food

[peacetraveler22.livejournal.com]

Hello alien! :) Thanks! Another reader sent me the link to this kid's Instagram page. It's very amusing, esp. some of the comments about his photos. What happened if you didn't eat all your food? The Soviet teachers yelled at you, or spanked you with a ruler? :))

Re: Real school food

[alienintheworld.livejournal.com]

As far as I remember, there were дежурные (some children on duty) who stood at the doors of the cafeteria and sometimes were accompanied by a teacher,. If you were a slow eater (like I was when I didn't like the food) they wouldn't let you leave the cafeteria until you finished your meal. (Oh, those pancakes WITH sour cream and WITHOUT sugar were a nightmare for me!) And you couldn't just trash or leave your food either.. So they made you wait until the bell and then mercifully let you go (but now you were late for class). My mom still remembers many pieces of bread and hardboiled eggs that I brought home in my pockets, forgetting to toss them in a dumpster on the way home. :)

Re: Real school food

[naysayer15.livejournal.com]

ага, а специально натренированный кгб-ник следил за маленькими говнюками типа тебя и насильно запихивал тебе в рот молоко с клеем и полонием)))) полоумная шваль...я даже не заглядываю в профиль понимаю, что воняет с Усраины...опущенцы.

Re: Real school food

[phd-paul-lector.livejournal.com]

I am afraid you should check your memory, you know :)

No one cared if you ate your meal or not. All leftovers were just dumped in a big pail which was letter sent to some farm and added to pigs' food. Kids were not allowed to take any food out except for buns and pastries, and the guys on duty were making sure that everybody puts the trays, dishes and glasses onto a table near the dishwashing station, that's all.